Life on the Run
by thylacine67
Summary: Full summary inside. Karigan is on the run, King Zachary is no longer married and is without and heir. What did Karigan do to have to go on the run? KxZ Reviews are always appreciated. Taken over by hamsterpickle1313.
1. Chapter 1: After the Battle

**Full Summary: Mornhavon is dead, and Estora broke the marriage between herself and the king. Karigan finds herself running from provincial soldiers when she escapes the castle. Why did she run? And why are the soldiers after her? Where will she go and will the king ever find a wife and produce and heir? Read and find out. **

**Pairing: KariganxZachary**

****All characters belong to Kristen Britain****

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><p>Chapter 1: After the Battle<p>

Karigan was panting for breath. Her bloodied sword was in her hand and her braid was disheveled because of the battle. Bodies of dead groundmites, mutated Blackveil wildlife, and even other Sacoridians that were part of the Second Empire were lying around her. The smell of decaying bodies and blood was engulfing her nostrils.

She realized that, as she let her eyes wander around her, that the Sacoridians lost many, and that those of the best training or those that were just lucky were still standing among her. One of those few was the king himself. He was walking amongst the dead, lifting helms, looking at those who fought for him and for their beloved country. He was wearing his steel armor that she herself had put on, had tightened, checked over, and then checked again, just to make sure that nothing could get through it.

There were others that Karigan saw as she gazed at the battle field before her. She could see Captain Mapstone, Garth, Alton, Tegan, Fastion, Donal, Brienne, Travis, and Willis. And Ben was quickly moving through the bodies, checking the man's vitals and dressing wounds.

"Water?" Karigan jumped at the voice and accidently brought her sword back up until she realized who was beside her now. King Zachary was looking at her concernedly holding out a waterskin towards her.

She shook her head, "No, you need it more than I."

"Please," he replied strongly, "I _want_ you to have it."

Karigan gulped anxiously at the feelings that had stirred when he said that and then glanced at the waterskin. She inclined her head in silent thanks and hesitantly took the waterskin from him. She lifted it to her lips and swallowed three large gulps before returning it to the king. "Thank you," she said to him. Then, carefully stepping over the dead, Karigan walked away, hoping to calm her racing heart. She found herself walking up a hill where there were less dead. And on top of that hill, she found Westrion himself and his steed Salvistar.

Westrion gazed at her as she slowed to a stop at the crest of the hill. And then she turned away from the death god and looked over the battle field. She crossed her arms over her chest as he came to stand beside her to look over the bloody field himself. "Is Mornhavon actually dead this time?" Karigan asked him.

"Yes, he'll be a problem no longer," he replied, sounding very . . .powerful.

She looked at him, "So why are you here?"

Westrion turned away from the battle field and began to walk back toward Salvistar, as he said, "Because I wanted to give you this." He reached under some blankets that were attached to Salvistar and grasped something silver. And then he pulled the object out gracefully, not even bothering Salvistar with the move. It was a sword; and a beautiful one at that. The double edged sword was made completely out of shining metal that Karigan couldn't identify. The grip of the sword was wrapped tightly in thick, black leather and the pommel was a large, dark green emerald oval. And the guard was of two winged horses. He held out the grip end of the sword, silently offering her to take it out of its scabbard. When Karigan did so, she found that it was perfectly balanced for her; it almost felt like an extension of her arm.

Karigan swung the sword around a few times before looking back up at the death god. "Thank you," was all she could say.

"There's no need to thank me Galadheon, you've done enough already," he replied. He looked up into the sky and sighed, "I'm afraid that I must be going; there are always souls that need carrying to the heavens, so I'm needed."

Karigan inclined her head after she replaced the sword back to its scabbard and took it from the death god. She stepped back and watched as Westrion gracefully mounted Salvistar and rested his hands on the stallion's flanks. He paused, and then pulled something else out. "Here's the belt for it," he said before she took that from him as well. She stepped back again as Salvistar reared up onto his hind legs and leapt up into the air. She watched as they became small dots in the sky until they were no more.

There was tugging on the shoulder of her shirt and Karigan looked to see Condor playfully nipping at her. She smiled slightly and turned to gently stroke his cheek with her free hand. She and Condor had been separated shortly after the battle against Mornhavon began. And Karigan was glad to see that he was well and unharmed. She took up his reins and began her decent from the hill back to the battle field and eventually toward the Sacoridian camp, where she hoped to get the armor that she wore off, and a camp meal; which consisted of biscuits, dried meat, and water. The meal wasn't much, but it would always do for Karigan.

She stepped carefully over the bodies as she moved through the bloody battle field; with Condor's reins in one hand and her new sword and belt in the other. Ben was still working his way through the wounded healing major injuries and wrapping up the wounds that were less serious. Many unhurt Sacoridians were lifting the dead onto makeshift stretchers and were carrying them away. After a while, Karigan entered the Sacoridian camp and tiredly handed a horse-boy Condor's reins, "Make sure that he's fed and rubbed down good," she said to him.

"Yes Rider Sir," he replied, leading Condor away.

Karigan ran her hand through her hair and walked further into the camp, heading for her own tent that was strategically placed pretty close to the king's. She preferred to be closer to her fellow Green Riders, but ever since she was made the Knight, things had changed. It almost seemed to Karigan like the king made her the Knight for reasons other than her good deeds to the kingdom and its king. But there was nothing that she could do about it now. She had lands anywhere in the kingdom and in Coutre Province, but her only _real_ home was in the port city of Corsa in L'Petrie Province.

She reached her tent and silently went inside. Karigan gently placed the new sword and its belt on her makeshift bed and immediately went to the wash basin. She dipped her hands in and splashed the water on her face to help rid her face of the blood. Then, she used the towel nearby to wipe the water off of her face, leaving watery blood stained on the towel. Karigan sighed and reached up to start undoing the braid in her hair.

Right when she shook out her hair and was beginning to run a brush through it, one of the king's servants came through the tent flap. She asked, quite annoyed, "What can I do for you?"

"The king wishes for you to join him in his tent Rider Sir G'ladheon," he said.

"Is he in urgent need?" Karigan asked.

The servant gaped at her for a moment, "No."

Karigan let loose a string of wharf curses, which made the servant's eyes widen. "Fine, tell him that I'll be there in a moment," she told him. And then she turned his back on the servant as he went through the tent flap again. Karigan finished brushing her brunette hair and then began to undo some of the armor that she had on, taking that off eventually.

Finally, with a sigh, Karigan walked out of her tent, turning right to head directly in the direction of King Zachary's tent. Soldiers were moving about busily, some were carrying stretchers, some were delivering herbs for treatments, and some were even carrying the weight of those who could walk, but barely. She smelled the burning flesh of the groundmites and the other Blackveil animals and she spotted the carts that would carry the dead in their caskets back to their loved ones.

When she reached the king's elaborate looking tent, she knocked on one of the tent posts. She heard from inside, "Come in." Karigan parted the tent flap and entered to find King Zachary sitting on his bed with all of his armor still on.

"Don't you know that you have servants that are paid to take off your armor?" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

King Zachary watched her, and then he stood up and said, "I _do _know that, but I want you to do it, if you don't mind."

Karigan looked at him for a moment, and then she shook her head, "Whatever his majesty wants." She walked up to him and started to arduous task of removing the king's armor. The _same_ armor that she put on merely hours before.

"I saw you going up on that hill after the battle," the king said.

"What about it?" Karigan asked, not taking her eyes off of her work.

"What were you doing?" he asked.

"I was having a conversation with a certain some . . . one," Karigan replied, thinking of whether or not to call Westrion a someone or something.

"Who?"

Karigan finally looked up at him momentarily, and then asked, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I would like to know," the king answered.

Karigan looked back down, trying to hide the fact that she was touched that he cared so much, "I was talking to Westrion." She undid one of the buckles on his armor.

"Oh," he didn't sound surprised, "So, what did he say?"

"He told me that Mornhavon is completely gone. And then he wanted to give me something," Karigan answered.

"What did he give you?" now he sounded surprised.

"A new sword," Karigan answered removing the armor on his back.

"Why?"

"You sure have a lot of questions, don't you," Karigan said, slightly smiling.

"Well don't you think that a king should know why the death god came and talked with his Knight?" King Zachary asked.

Karigan swallowed the rush of feelings when he said that she was his. She cleared her throat, "Well I don't really know why. Just a gift I guess." Karigan removed the last piece of King Zachary's armor and then stepped back, "I'm all done."

"Thank you Karigan," he replied.

"Don't," she said strongly, "Don't say my name."

"But I―" he started.

"NO! Stop you are the king, and I am the commoner. We can _never_ be in a relationship like that. Why can't you get that through that thick skull of yours?"

"Because I love you," he whispered, grasping her arms tightly.

Karigan tried to fight her way out of his grip, but she was only able to get only one of her arms free. "Let me go," she said dangerously.

"No Karigan, I'm tired of seeing you walk away from this. At least tell me if you love me," he said.

Her heart crumbled to pieces as she accidently screamed, "I don't love you and I never will!" Karigan stared up at King Zachary with a racing heart, gasping breaths, and a broken heart. She felt the king's hand slide off of her arm and fall limply to his side. His crestfallen look broke her heart even more than it already was. And she silently cursed society and the different classes. She wanted to tell him the truth so badly, but she was not able to do so. Instead she had broken his heart and lied to him.

King Zachary turned away from her and faced his bed. He said, "You're free to go back to your tent now Rider Sir G'ladheon."

Karigan swallowed the sob that threatened to slip through her lips and bowed. And then she walked back toward the tent flap, stopping just before it. A tear slipped out of her eye and slid down her cheek, and she whispered so that only he could hear her, "I lied. I love you Zachary and I always have." And then she pushed back the tent flap and disappeared before the king could stop her from leaving.

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><p><strong>Well, tell me what you think of the first chapter. Reviews are always appreciated and wanted after every chapter. Thanks.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

**Thanks to everyone who's already reviewed! I was hoping to get this done last night, but it just didn't happen. So, here comes the aftermath of chapter 1, everyone enjoy it.**

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><p>Chapter 2: Playing With Fire<p>

Breathing heavily and tears falling down her cheeks, Karigan burst into her tent. She did it, she told him, she didn't mean to, it just slipped out of its own accord. And now, now what was going to happen. He was the _king_ of Sacoridia, and she was a Green Rider, a commoner; this can't happen. And she screamed that she _didn't_ love him; now how many people know that there's something going on. 10,50, 100! This can't be happening!

She heard footsteps outside her tent and they were coming closer. Karigan tensed and froze in place in front of her makeshift bed. She heard the fabric shifting and she closed her eyes, wanting to block everything out.

"Karigan," a male voice called.

Karigan turned around and sighed, thanking the gods, "Alton, thank the gods."

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her concernedly.

"No, Alton I . . . I told the king―"

"Oh gods, you didn't," he replied. "Did you tell the king that you love him?"

"It was a mistake, it just slipped out, I didn't mean to do it!" Karigan whispered frantically.

"You told the king!" he whispered.

"I didn't mean to!" Karigan's heart was still beating as frantic as before, and steadily getting faster.

"Does the captain know?" Alton asked.

"If she doesn't know now, she will in the time to come. There's no doubt that King Zachary will tell her," Karigan answered.

"Now what are you going to do?" Alton asked, coming to sit in the single chair that was in Karigan's tent and Karigan sat down on her bed, moving her new sword over to make room.

Karigan shook her head, "I don't know Alton. Since the king is no longer married, there's a possibility that he'll propose a commoner . . . marriage to the lord governors. But I doubt that that'll go well."

"What if it _does_ go well?" Alton asked quietly, leaving Karigan speechless.

Karigan didn't say anything for a while, which made the tension of the question increase. "I can't handle being . . . trapped in that castle for the rest of my days. My personality just couldn't take it, I'll go insane. But . . ."

"But," Alton said, "you'll still marry him?"

New tears were starting to fall down Karigan's face as she looked at Alton on the opposite side of the tent. "Yes. It would satisfy my father and my clan, as well as the kingdom itself once I," she swallowed anxiously, "produce heirs."

"Don't do it Karigan," Alton said, almost pleadingly. "You were born into trade and negotiations, not politics and, and lies. That's what you'd be marrying into and trust me _I _can barely take it all, and I'm just the son of the lord governor. As your friend, I don't want to, to put you in that position if I had a say."

Karigan sniffed and wiped at her eyes. And then she smiled sadly, "Thank you Alton, for everything that you've done for me."

The tent flap opened again and Captain Mapstone walked into her tent. "Alton," she said, "I need to have a moment alone with Karigan."

Karigan covered her face despairingly as Alton said standing, "Yes captain."

Captain Mapstone gazed at Karigan for a long time with her hands on her hips. And then her gaze shifted toward the sword at Karigan's side, "Westrion gave you a beautiful gift." Karigan groaned.

"You talked to King Zachary?" she asked.

"Yes, for a little while, before he went out for a ride. He seemed," Captain Mapstone rubbed at the scar running down her neck, "a bit happier than he should be on the aftermath of a battle." Captain Mapstone pierced Karigan with her striking eyes. And then she asked, "What happened Karigan?"

Karigan sighed and pulled the sword at her side into her lap, "I didn't mean for it to happen, it was an accident."

"What happened Karigan," the Green Rider captain said more strongly.

"I," one more tear fell down Karigan's face, "I told him that I loved him."

This time, Karigan heard the Captain sigh. She stared down at the sword in her lap and ran her hand over the emerald pommel, trying to evade Captain Mapstone's stare. In the corner of her eye, she watched as Captain Mapstone walked to the vacated seat that Alton had been sitting in before her. Outside, Karigan could hear hoof beats of passing horsed soldiers, the many footsteps of marching soldiers as well as the single pairs of feet of individuals passing by. And to Karigan, each step that was heard only seemed to intensify the tension in the tent. And then Captain Mapstone finally asked, "What are you going to do during the journey back to the castle tomorrow?" Being the knight, Karigan had a place beside the king when he is moving troops.

Karigan shrugged, "I don't know, ride and don't speak. Because the gods know how much trouble my mouth has gotten me into."

"You should know better than that to think that the king will allow you to not talk during the journey back to the castle," Captain Mapstone replied with a slight smirk. Karigan sighed, not really amused at the truth of it. Then she noticed the setting sun that poked through the gap in the tent flap.

She looked away as she said to Captain Mapstone, "Captain, I'm sorry, but I'm tired after the battle and I'd like to retire a little earlier than usual."

Captain Mapstone nodded and stood from the chair, turning toward the tent flap. But before she left, Karigan heard her say, "Look, I'm not mad Karigan. But I do worry about what might happen now. These things happen, and not even a difference in classes can change that." And then Captain Mapstone pulled back the flap and disappeared the other side. Karigan watched the flap settle itself back into place before standing up herself. And then she attached her new sword to the matching silver belt and hung the belt onto the back of the chair. And then she fell onto the bed, not even changing, before falling into a deep tired sleep.

The next morning, Karigan woke on her own early. It was still dark in her tent, but gray light was shining in through the gap in the tent flap. She could hear fait talking from other Sacoridian soldiers, horses neighing, and she could barely hear the rattling of pans as cooks prepared a light breakfast before the move back to the castle. Groaning, Karigan sat up on her bed and threw her legs over the edge to sit upon the edge of the bed. She ran her hands over her face and through her hair before getting up and going to the washbasin again to wake up fully with another splash of cold water to her face.

Karigan changed out of her blood stained, dirty clothes and into some fresh, clean Green Rider field uniform. And then she moved to the chair that held her sword. She picked up the belt and wrapped it around her lithe waist to tie the ends together at her stomach. Lastly, Karigan put her hair up so that it would stay out of her face during the ride back to the castle. Now, she was ready to face the new day, but hopefully not the king, she wasn't quite ready to face the king yet. So she walked out of her tent and headed toward the horses, intending to feed and brush down Condor before the horse boys did it first. When she arrived at the horses, she saw with satisfaction that no one had gotten to these horses quite yet, so she could take care of Condor herself.

After feeding, watering, and grooming Condor, the sun was just starting to rise over the horizon. The horse boys had just arrived and were caring for the other horses. Karigan knew that soon the bugle would sound and everyone would have to get in their ranks for the trip back to the castle. But Karigan knew that she had a little time to get a small something to eat before that happened. So, with that in mind, Karigan gave Condor one last pat on the neck and headed for the cooks tent, wondering if she may catch up with another Green Rider eating their rather late breakfast.

There was another Green Rider there, and it was Ben. They had small conversation and Karigan found that Ben had been working with some of the wounded, which made him slightly late for breakfast. After she was finished, the bugle sounded and she said goodbye to Ben, headed back in Condor's direction. When she got there, the other horses were gone and Condor was the only one standing, waiting for her to saddle him. So, quickly, Karigan picked up the saddle from the saddle rack and put it on Condor, and then she retrieved his bridal and put that on as well. She smoothed out his mane lovingly before taking the reins and leading him back among the tents.

Karigan led Condor to the outskirts of the camp where the army was forming for the walk home. She glanced at all of the soldiers that were left from the battle against Mornhavon and his army of Blackveil creatures. She stopped by an individual, his facial expression was different than all of the others. Karigan gently placed a hand onto his shoulder, he looked at her and she asked him, "What's wrong?"

The soldier swallowed and then answered her quietly, "My best friend died during the battle. He was right beside me the entire time before he was killed by one of those filthy mites."

Karigan nodded and squeezed the soldier's shoulder, she said, "I'm sorry." And then she moved on, heading for the front of the army to ride at the king's side.

One minute later, Karigan had reached the front of the procession, and the king. She avoided any eye contact whatsoever, even when he said, "Good morning Rider Sir G'ladheon."

"Good morning your majesty," she replied leading Condor around the king to be on the king's right side.

"I trust that you have a restful sleep," he said from atop his dapple gray.

"Yes your majesty," Karigan replied, mounting Condor. Karigan didn't even look his way when she heard him huff beside her, most likely because she insisted on calling him, your majesty every time that she spoke to him. She had to smother a smirk; maybe this ride won't be so bad after all.

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><p>Zachary was frustrated. Karigan was right beside him, and she was short and hadn't looked at him for the entire duration of the journey back to the castle so far. And she was looking beautiful, as always, which made the entire situation much worse. He couldn't help but stare at the silver belt that was wrapped around her waist, and he wished that it wasn't her belt, but his arms that were wrapped around her waist. He wanted to run his hands through her hair and taste her neck, jaw, lips. Ever since she told him that she loved him last night, he couldn't stop fantasizing over her. He dreamt that they were married and were living in a cozy house nestled in between a thick, dense forest and the wide open ocean. In his dream, they had two children, a boy and a girl. They were the most beautiful children that he'd ever seen, both of them had taken after their mother, and that's what he loved most about it.<p>

"Sire," Karigan said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" he replied, looking at her.

"Don't you think that it's about time that we let the men have a break from marching?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"Yes, your right," he answered, holding his hand up to halt the army behind him. "Take a ten minute break everyone," he commanded. Zachary watched as Karigan got off of Condor and led him toward the nearby stream to let him get a drink of water. Zachary dismounted and watched as Karigan knelt down and refilled her own waterskin, and when she stood back up, he couldn't help but stare as she drank, gulp after gulp of the stream water. She lowered her waterskin soon after Condor finished drinking. And then, she finally looked at him. Karigan narrowed her eyes and made a finger motion for him to turn around. He did; Zachary knew that he was playing with fire when it came to Karigan. And his mother taught him early in his life to _never_ play with fire.

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><p><strong>3 . . . 2 . . . 1, review!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Nightly Rendezvous

**Okay, sorry that I didn't update sooner. I've started a breeding group on my Howrse account and it's taking all of my time up. So, here's the new chapter, enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 3: Nightly Rendezvous<p>

Karigan fell onto her bed tiredly, finally able to sleep soundly on a _bed_ instead of the ground. The army spent 3 days getting back to the castle after the battle against Mornhavon. And after they returned, Karigan couldn't just go directly to her bed like she wanted to, she helped the menders transport the injured to the mending wing, and then clean, feed, and water Condor before letting him sleep in his stall in the stables, _and then_ she had to quickly change into a more formal uniform so that she could go to a meeting that King Zachary set up directly _after_ they got back from marching. So now, she was finally in a bed and in a quiet place where she can easily sleep for hours.

The night was dark, the castle was quiet, and everyone was asleep, except for Karigan. She was tired there was no doubt about that, and she wanted to sleep, but she just couldn't for some reason. She ended up tossing and turning in her small bed, she kept closing her eyes, hoping to fall asleep, but, she just couldn't fall asleep. With a groan, Karigan finally threw her blankets off and kicked her feet over the edge of her bed. She shrugged on her Rider greatcoat over her shoulders and went to the door and quietly swung it open and went into the hallway. She walked through the dark halls of the castle, down stairs, through a few doors, and came out of one of the many small doors leading outside.

The moonlight shined down made the castle gardens look haunted. There were shadows everywhere, and it seemed like the darkness was caving in upon them. Tree limbs draped down over Karigan's head, the stone pathway gave out under her boots, daytime flowers that usually were open to soak in the sunlight, were closed for the night, and not even a bird stirred up the branches of the trees around her. Everything seemed eerily quiet to Karigan, but then, she _did_ just return from battle.

She stopped in front of a small pond in the middle of the gardens, secluded by the scrubs, flowers, and trees. She finally felt at peace, the quiet was . . . serene after spending her time at a place where there was painful moaning, groaning, and screaming. Under the surface of the water, small fish were still, although, Karigan would see a fin move, or a little fish turn from one direction to another.

"Can't sleep?" Karigan jumped and couldn't stifle a shriek and suddenly wished that she had a dagger with her. She had turned around to see King Zachary gazing at her through the darkness.

"Sire," Karigan hastily bowed, "my apologies, but don't do that. You'll kill me through fright alone."

King Zachary chuckled and approached her, coming within inches of Karigan. Karigan took another step back to create space between them. His brow furrowed and he looked a little hurt. "Kari," he said, "you said―"

Karigan turned away from his eyes and looked out over the pond again. She crossed her arms and said quietly, "I know what I said. But it doesn't matter about you say, what I say, or what anyone else says. The kingdom needs a queen, and an heir. And no matter how much it might hurt," she finally looked at him, "I cannot be that queen."

"No, please Karigan. The people would _love_ you as their queen. I _know_ that they would love and appreciate a queen who was born among them, who knows what they need and what they want done to improve Sacoridia," he replied, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"You and I both know that, but you know that the lords will never allow it. I don't have a drop of noble blood in me," Karigan retorted.

The king turned Karigan around to face him, and he looked into her eyes and said, "I can do it. Just trust me; I'll make them see that you are the best woman for the job. I'll make them see that you don't need any noble blood to be queen."

Karigan was looking down the entire time that he said that, and as she was still looking down, she said quietly and with a shaking voice, "But what if you can't?"

King Zachary shook his head, "Oh no, don't lose faith now Karigan. You of all people shouldn't lose their faith in something that they believe in."

She finally snapped her head up to look at him, "How do you know what I believe in?"

"Because I know you. I know your dreams, strengths, weaknesses, and goals. _I know you Karigan_, and that's how I know what you believe. You believe that everyone needs to do the right thing every day," he said, right into her eyes. A few tears fell from Karigan's eyes and King Zachary wiped them away with his thumb. "_I_ believe," he said, "that two people, whatever the situation, can be together for the rest of their lives. I love you Karigan, and I always will."

Karigan looked up into his face and sighed and said shyly with a crooked smile, "I love you Zachary, and I always will." He smiled and released a held breath, and then he gently tucked a strand of her long, wavy hair behind her ear.

"Karigan?" he asked.

"Hmm," she responded, closing her eyes and leaning into his touch.

"Can I kiss your lips in the moonlight?" he asked.

Karigan opened her eyes and looked up at his face again. He was looking lovingly down upon her, waiting for an answer. Her heart began beating twenty times its normal pace as she smiled at him. He smiled back, looking quite giddy all of a sudden. And then the king moved his hand to the back of her neck, and brought her up as he lowered his head towards her. Karigan's breath left her as she felt his lips gently surrounding hers. She felt him cup her cheeks softly as Karigan returned the kiss.

Under the moonlight, two lovers bonded their declarations of love with a single kiss. There was no one watching, except for Fastion, who looked away and smirked.

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><p><strong>It wasn't as long as I would have liked it to be, but I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And did anyone notice the line of lyrics to a Lady Antebellum song? If you did, then tell me what song that it was in your review. <strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Leavetaking

**Sorry for the update delay, I had a short writer's block, and then this past Sunday night I spent the best night of my life at my first Keith Urban concert (still on Keith Urban high; listening to him right now). So, the line of lyrics to the Lady Antebellum song was from their new one, **_**Just a Kiss. **_**And if possible, I would like to have at least 7 reviews for this story in total before I update again. So, without further ado, here's your new chapter everyone, enjoy.**

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><p>Chapter 4: Leave-taking<p>

Zachary smiled as he watched his love sleep beside him. She was tired and he knew it by the looks of her eyes last night when they met in the gardens. And then it took a lot of coercing on his part to get her to join him in his bed, but nothing inappropriate happened of course, he just wanted her to sleep and he thought that she might be able to when he was there with her. And Zachary's plan worked, as soon as Karigan's head hit the pillow and he wrapped his arm around her, she was asleep instantly. And soon after she fell asleep, he had fallen into slumber as well.

And now, he watched her quietly, not moving a muscle as the gray light of early dawn was beginning to light the heavens. Karigan's long brown hair was gracefully draped across the pillows in gentle waves, even with the single blond strand that had grown from after she recovered the book down in the tombs. He almost wished that she would open her eyes just so that he could see her bright blue eyes. And there, her lips quirked slightly up in a smile; he loved her smile so much. Her full chest moved up and down under the sheets in tune with her breathing. Her body was turned on his side with her head resting on shoulder.

As king, he felt that Karigan would make the perfect queen for Sacoridia, and he didn't care about what anyone else would say about it. She defeated Mornhavon and has spoken to the gods, the death god in particular, as well as the dead Eletian queen, Laurelyn. And she's a commoner; his people would love that they would have direct representation in the throne room. How could the lords not see that having a commoner would be a good direction for the kingdom? There's a possibility that lord Alton would approve of it, since Kari and his son are great friends; I hope so. And besides, I think that he has met her before while she was staying with them for a little while.

I'll think about it later, she's finally waking up.

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><p>She felt an arm resting under her back and soft caresses on her arm. Karigan inhaled and turned her head to look to the right of her, and then she opened her eyes. Her eyes narrowed, this wasn't her room, it was much, much larger, and the furniture was, for lack of a better word, more elaborate than what she's used to seeing when she usually wakes up. The lighting looks about right, except for the large windows that dotted the stone walls. And then she felt more caresses on her cheek this time, Karigan turned toward it and jumped out of the bed with a shriek, her legs getting tangled in the sheets on her way out of the bed.<p>

King Zachary gaped at her with a shocked expression, "What was that?"

"Shut-up, where's my shoes, I have to get out of here," she replied scanning the room for her boots that she hardly remembered putting on last night.

Grasping her hand gently, the king said, "Calm down, there's still a few more minutes before I'll let you go back to your room."

"But I'll―"

"No, you won't be seen," King Zachary said, and then he pointed toward a tapestry hanging on the wall, "Behind that tapestry, there's a secret passage way that ends a minute away from where your room is." And then he softly pulled her towards him, Karigan allowed herself to be led back to the bed. "And besides," he added, "I'd like to spend a few extra minutes with you before you leave."

Karigan sat down beside him on the bed and then allowed herself to bed led by the king as he lay back down on the bed. And then, as soon as she was comfortable with her head lying on his chest, she asked, "I don't know what you mean, where am I going?"

"I'm going to send out summons to the lords today as soon as I get them written. I'm assuming that Laren would assign you to one of them," he answered, placing a kiss on her temple. Karigan didn't speak for a few moments, and after a while, he looked at her, "Are you okay?"

She licked her lips and sighed, and she said quietly, not looking back at him, "We shouldn't be doing this."

Now it was the king's turn to not talk for a moment. "W―what? I thought . . . I'll do anything Karigan, anything that you ask. But please don't walk away from this, please."

"It's not that simple Zachary. I do love you, with all of my heart, but I just can't bear the thought of being . . . _trapped_ in this place for the rest of my life," Karigan replied, still not looking at him.

"I won't let that happen Karigan. I know that you can't stand to be behind these walls all of the time. I'll find a way to take care of it, just like I'm going to find a way for us to finally marry," he vowed. "Karigan," he said and she reluctantly looked up at him, he softly stroked her cheek, "I care about you, and I promise that I'll try to make things right so that you'd feel better about this. All you need to do is trust me."

Karigan looked away from his piercing, and at the same time, loving eyes. She knew that she wanted this, just so that she could be with the one that she loved. And yet, at the same time, she wasn't sure that she could handle the king part of him. There was a strong chance that she'll never get to see him throughout the day and the only reason that she was there to everyone else was to produce heirs and raise them. And with her being a commoner, she'll be looked down upon by all of the lord governors, and possibly even a target. And she thought that her job was dangerous enough, add the possible threats that might come her way because of this. Because the king didn't just marry one of their daughters or try harder to have Lady Estora stay married to him.

She took a deep breath and said quietly, "I have to go." She slid off of the bed, gathered her shoes and headed toward the tapestry that the king said that there was a secret door hidden behind. She pulled it back, opened the door, and went through it.

But before she could close the door, she heard, "When are we going to be together again like this?"

She didn't turn to look at him as she said, "Maybe later today, before I leave. Maybe." And with that said, she closed the door behind her and headed blindly down the passageway toward her room.

Later that day, Karigan was belting on her new sword with a heavy head and heart. She was given the assignment by Mara about thirty minutes ago; she was going to Coutre Province. It was probably the worst possible time for this errand and to Coutre Province, which just made it worse. Karigan didn't want to think about how it might unfold; former wife of King Zachary meeting the hopeful one of the distant future. _And yet, not his wife,_ Karigan thought as she lifted the satchel over her head and rested it on her shoulder. She hadn't said a yes or a no, nor was there a proposal on the king's part. So, she wasn't a soon-to-be-bride, but she was hopeful.

There was a knock on her door and Karigan said, "Come in."

The door opened and Fergal poked his head in the door, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, but the king would like a word with me before I leave. Is Condor ready?" Karigan replied and asked.

"Yup, so maybe," he pointed to Karigan, "ten, fifteen minutes?"

"Maybe, it'll depend on what the king wants," Karigan replied, hoping that he wasn't catching onto her lie that the king called for her.

He nodded, "Okay, I'll tell the captain." Fergal left, leaving Karigan to take a deep breath and feel slightly guilty that she had to lie to him. She took one last look around the room before gathering her things up under her arm and headed out the door. She headed down the corridor, waving to the riders that she passed by on her way.

After a while, she came upon the double doors of his study and the two Weapons were stationed on either side, as normal. Karigan walked up to them, "May I have a word with the king?"

The one on the left nodded and turned to open the study door to ask permission from the king. Karigan remained standing with her things as she waited for the answer. Until, finally, he came back out and nodded, "You have permission Rider Sir G'ladheon."

"Thank you," she replied as the Weapon held the door open for her to go through. Once inside, Karigan stood in front of King Zachary, until the door closed.

Immediately after the door closed the king stood from the chair behind his desk, walked around it and freed her arms before enveloping her in an embrace. "Where?" he asked into her ear.

"Coutre Province," Karigan replied and she felt him tighten his hold on her.

"You've been thinking," King Zachary said, teasing her by caressing her cheek with his lips, making her breath hitch.

"Yes," she breathed, she was losing control herself and the situation. But it felt so good.

"And?" he asked, pulling away.

"I hate you," she said jokily, referring to his teasing and then pulling away. The king chuckled.

Karigan sighed and looked down at their interlocked hands, "I'm really nervous about how this errand is going to present itself. Did Estora know when she broke the marriage?" King Zachary only nodded in answer.

"I wouldn't worry Karigan," he said, stroking her cheek, "you and Estora were still friends when she left. I'm sure that she still enjoys your company, especially now that she's running the province. And I trust her." She sighed again and closed her eyes reveling in the comfort that he was giving her. And then she felt him press his lips to hers gently, she returned the favor by kissing him back. When they parted after a chaste kiss, the king asked, "How long will you be gone?"

She thought for a moment, "Maybe, a month; two weeks at least."

King Zachary bent to nuzzle his face into the crook of her neck and shoulder. Karigan smiled slightly when she felt him breathe in her scent, she buried her hand in his hair in return. And then she felt the vibration on her neck when he said, "I'm going to miss you. One night of this isn't going to help me; I'm going to want more of this soon."

Karigan smiled, "I'll try to get back as fast as possible."

She heard him take in a deep breath before he pulled back slowly. He looked into her eyes and said to her, "Be careful."

She reached up to touch his cheek, "I will." For a minute, Karigan looked at him, before she said quietly, "I love you."

King Zachary smiled and bent again to capture her lips again. And when he pulled back again, since they both needed air, he said, "And I love you." Karigan sighed and looked away, moving to gather up her things from off of the floor of the king's study. She turned to the door and opened it and walked out, making sure that she didn't look back for fear of them being seen by someone. She strode through the corridors with her things slung over her shoulder, her sword beating against her leg, and her braid swinging back and forth.

Swinging one of the side doors out of the castle open, Karigan was nearly blinded by the bright, shining sun that met her. Immediately, she headed towards the Rider stables where she knew that at least Mara was waiting for her to bid her goodbye and a safe and uneventful errand. There were few trees that were in her path toward the stables, the only trees that were behind castle walls were in the gardens. But there were plenty of soldiers, Green Foot, a few more Green Riders, and other maids and servants of the castle walking about their business.

When Karigan reached the stable Mara _was_ there waiting for her, holding Condor's reins. Karigan smiled as she approached one of her best friends. "How did I know that you were going to be here waiting for me?" she asked comically.

Mara shrugged, taking Karigan's bag and beginning to attach it to Condor's saddle, "It's my job, I'm supposed to be here to send you all off."

"How many others are out with this mysterious influx of messages from the king?" Karigan asked, playing along like she didn't know.

"It's only the number of lord governors, but the thing is," Mara paused, looking at Karigan, leaning on Condor's saddle, "the king even sent one out to your father for some reason."

Now Karigan was dumbstruck, her eye brows dropped, "Hmm, that _is_ odd. Maybe he wants some of my father's fabrics?"

"I don't know," Mara said straightening up. "So, need a boost?" she asked Karigan.

"No, I got it," Karigan replied, skillfully swinging herself into the saddle. Condor tossed his head impatiently.

"I think that Condor wants a good run so at one point let him gallop for a little while," Mara suggested, giving Karigan the reins. Karigan nodded and waved at her friend before spurring her mount into a trot.

Once she passed the last city gate, Karigan let Condor trot for a little while longer. And then, once they were well away from the city she asked Condor, "Are you ready to run?" Condor bobbed his head up and down, making Karigan chuckle at him and pat his neck. And then, with an exited smile, Karigan kicked at his sides and held on to the reins as Condor took off under her. Together, Rider and messenger horse galloped down the road toward Coutre Province.

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><p><strong>Lots of KxZ, so I hope that you all liked that. I thought of putting the actual stay in Coutre Province in this chapter, but as you can see, I decided against it. So like I said in the author's note at the start of the chapter, I'd like at least 7 reviews in total before I update. So review please.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: The Letter

**Wow, I didn't think that I would get 7 reviews that quickly. I didn't really know that you guys liked this this much. Keep up the good work I really appreciate it. Well, like I promised, here's a new chapter for you all.**

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><p>Chapter 5: The Letter<p>

The king of Sacoridia sat at his desk working on many different things at once. He was signing official documents; laws, petitions, and requests by his people. And at the same time, he was writing down notes for the meeting that was the reason for gathering the lord governors. He hoped to finally be able to convince them that Karigan was the perfect queen. And then, he and Karigan would finally be able to marry without much of an argument between himself and the lords. He wanted this to go as smoothly as possible, especially for Karigan, she's gone through enough throughout the past four years. And he hoped that he could help ease any more fears that she might ever have in the future.

After he wrote another note on the piece of parchment paper, someone knocked on the door. Without looking up, he called, "Yes?"

The door to his study opened and Fastion leaned into the room, "Sire, Captain Mapstone would like to enter."

"Let her in Fastion," he replied, looking back down at his work.

Laren walked into the study as Fastion held the door open for her. King Zachary looked up and smiled at her, "Thank you Laren."

"What for?" she asked as she sat down in one of the chairs before the king's desk.

"For saving me from paperwork, if only for just a little while," he replied, making both of them chuckle. And then he asked her, "Is this a social visit or is there something wrong Laren?"

Laren looked down at her hands, "You're gathering the lords to propose the marriage between yourself and Karigan, aren't you?" it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. Laren I―"

Captain Mapstone sighed and continued to gaze at her hands as she confessed, "I've done something wrong Zachary."

King Zachary's brows furrowed, "What?"

"Those letters that you trusted over to me to give to Karigan," she said looking up at him to look at his eyes, "I never gave them to her."

The High King's face paled and his heart felt like it stopped. "What?" He couldn't believe that he heard her right.

"I never gave your letters to Karigan," Laren repeated, anxiously wringing her hands.

King Zachary slowly rose from his chair, "Laren, this isn't a joke, it's not funny."

Captain Mapstone inhaled deeply, "No, I'm not joking."

The king swallowed painfully, and he asked hoarsely, "What did you do to the messages?"

Laren continued looking down at her hands, "I burned them."

He couldn't believe it; Laren! She's known him all of his life! This couldn't be happening! She, the one who called him moonling as a child, who found him every single time that he escaped from his assigned Weapon. Laren, who is his most trusted advisor, whom he looked to for advice for all of those years. How could she do this? This time, he asked, "Why? H―how could you do this?"

"You were betrothed to Lady Estora. And I couldn't let you and Karigan get even closer than you already had. I did it for the kingdom," she said.

There was one word that would describe King Zachary's feelings; betrayal. He sighed, looked down at his desk, and shook his head, "J―just get out Laren." King Zachary sat back down again in the chair as Captain Mapstone dejectedly stood and walked out of the room. _How could she,_ he thought as he held his head in his hands, feeling tired already.

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><p>Condor trotted into the gates of Coutre Province's capital city, where Lady Coutre currently lived. Karigan was atop her mount as they ended the first half of their errand. Her satchel was securely strapped to her belt at her waist. Buildings lined the streets, with the occasional alleyway to separate them. People orderly walked the streets, going about their business, as they should. She sighed and tucked the stray strands of hair behind her ear; she had made it to Coutre Province without any trouble, which was comforting. And yet, now, she still didn't know what was to happen once she saw Estora again.<p>

"Do you have an appointment with Lady Coutre?" a guard asked.

"I have a message from King Zachary for Lady Coutre," Karigan replied. The guard inclined his head and allowed her to pass the gates acting as the entrance to Lady Estora's private estate. At about, halfway across the court yard, where a stable boy came up beside her and took Condor's reins for her. And as he was led away, Karigan continued on toward the door. As she walked the unfamiliar corridors, she began pulling out the message from King Zachary. And then it happened, she arrived at Lady Estora's study. There was another guard there and she asked him, "Is Lady Governor Estora available?"

He nodded and asked, "A message from High King Zachary?"

"Yes," Karigan replied, her heart starting to beat wildly.

The guard quietly knocked on the door and announced, "Lady Estora, a Green Rider is here for you."

"Send them in," Karigan heard from the other side of the door. The guard nodded again and Karigan finally pulled out the message as she opened the door. After she closed it behind her, Karigan bowed deeply and then stood, trying hard to not shake.

"Karigan!" Lady Estora cried as she looked up from her desk. "Thank the Gods that you're alright!"

"Why wouldn't I be my Lady?" she asked.

"I heard about that battle against Mornhavon and the Second Empire. I worried about you, all of you there," she said.

"It was a difficult battle but we all survived my Lady," Karigan replied.

"Karigan please drop the formalities, we're friends," Lady Estora said.

"My duty comes first," Karigan said.

Lady Estora sighed and held out her hand, signifying that she wanted the message. Karigan's hand shook slightly as she gave it to the Coutre Province lady governor. Estora's brows furrowed and she asked Karigan, "What's wrong, you're shaking."

Karigan inwardly cursed herself, and then she swallowed anxiously before replying, "Nothing's wrong my lady."

Lady Estora set the message down on her desk, and then she sat down in one of the two chairs that sat in front of her desk. "You've done your duty Karigan. So please relax and sit and tell me what's wrong," she said to Karigan.

Karigan sighed, looked down and gave in, even though her heart was still threatening to burst from her chest. She sat down in the remaining chair and she licked her lips. Rubbing the back of her neck, she said, "I don't really know where to start."

"Why were you shaking?" Lady Estora asked.

"Because I'm seeing you," Karigan replied after a while.

Lady Estora gave her a confused look, "Why do you say that?"

Taking a deep breath, Karigan said, "I think I have a pretty good idea of what is in the message from King Zachary."

The lady smiled, "Is there finally something between you two. Because that's part of why I left him."

Karigan gaped at her, "You knew about us?"

"Please, Karigan everyone with a brain saw that the tapestries burst into fire because of the amount of sparks that flew," Lady Estora said with a smile. Karigan groaned.

"Was it _that_ obvious?" Karigan asked.

"No, I was joking. Zachary told me before I left," Lady Estora said. Karigan was visibly relieved.

"I was shaking because I was unsure of how I thought that this would go," Karigan said holding her head in her hand.

"Well, I just hope that we're still friends and will always be friends," Lady Estora said.

Karigan looked around and then said as she stood, "I have to get going. I still have to check in at an inn and wait for the reply from you to the king."

"I'll take a look at it as soon as I can. Come back tomorrow and I'll have a reply for the king for you," Lady Estora said.

Karigan nodded and bowed to Lady Estora before she turned and went through the door. She went back through the corridors toward the door that she entered the estate in at the front. On the way, she saw a few servants wandering about, but thankfully, she didn't see any more guards than was necessary. When she finally walked out of the building, Condor was already waiting for her, held by the same stable boy from before. Karigan thanked the boy and led Condor out of the court yard and out of the gates. She walked back through the streets and realized that it was nearly sundown. She went about searching for a nice looking inn where she could stay at and catch a supper.

Karigan finally stopped at an inn called The Bloody Boar. Before going into the establishment to order a room, Karigan tied Condor up to a pole with some other horses as company. She walked in and looked around the first room where many people lodged there were eating. It seemed to be a quiet, almost welcoming place. There was a little light still coming in from the many windows around the walls. People were laughing, there was a bard singing on a stage on the far end of the room, and women of all ages were serving the food for the lodgers.

After a while, she located the innkeeper and approached him. He was a hearty man, he was smiling a lot and he looked to have smile lines around his mouth. He was lean, tall, with not too broad shoulders, and long blonde hair pulled back with a band. He said with a cheery smile, "Welcome. What can I do for you?"

"Do you have any rooms available?" Karigan asked.

"We have one more open for you. Would you like it?" the innkeeper asked.

"Is it a single?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"How much is the room?" she asked.

This time he smiled again, "Just one silver a room."

Karigan's eye brows rose, "Really?"

The innkeeper smiled a third time, "Really."

She dug around in her coin purse and pulled out a silver, "I'll take it then."

After the innkeeper took the silver, he pointed at her, "You're a Green Rider right?" Karigan nodded. "Go ahead and put your horse down in the stable out back and by the time that you're done I'll have your room key," he said.

"Thank you," Karigan said before she walked away again, back toward the door. She took up Condor's reins and took him to the stable where she fed him, brushed him down, and watered him. And then, after she was done, she placed his tack in the stable's tack room where it was guarded by lock and key. And then, she went back inside, where she retrieved the key from the innkeeper and momentarily put her things in her room and then went back down to get something to eat.

She sat down tiredly in an empty seat, and immediately a teenager about the age of 18 walked up to her with a beaming smile. Karigan ran her hands through her hair as the girl asked, "What would you like tonight?"

"I'll take anything at this point," Karigan replied with a slight smile.

"How about some vegetable soup and a tall drink of ale," the teenager suggested.

"That'll do fine, thanks," Karigan replied. She watched the back of the girl walk away toward the kitchens before she spotted a man walk through the front door. Her heart leapt in her chest as she noticed the man was a soldier and he had the crest of the Mirwellian militia. And she also noticed that he was headed directly towards her. He stopped before her table and looked down on her threateningly. "What can I do for you?" Karigan asked.

The soldier dug around in his own satchel and pulled out a letter and handed it to her. Karigan looked at it quizzically. "You are Rider Sir G'ladheon, are you not?" he asked after a while.

Karigan nodded slowly, "Yes, I am. How do you know who I am?"

The soldier put the letter on the table before her, "My lord gave me your general description and told me where I could find you."

"And how does your lord know where I am?" Karigan asked.

"That's classified information," he replied, before turning on his heel and walking back toward the door. Karigan looked down at the mysterious letter in front of her for a while. And then, after a time, she picked it up and turned it over in her hands to take a look at the back. It was Lord Governor's wax insignia. Her heard jumped in her throat. Around her, men and women were still laughing and eating their suppers. She finally, slipped her thumb under the wax and opened the message. She had no idea about why Timas would want to send her a letter.

The letter read: _Rider Sir G'ladheon,_

_A marriage to High King Zachary will cost you your life._

_TM_

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><p><strong>*GASP* What have I done, I left the chapter at a cliffhanger! Again, keep up the good work on the reviewing. And in the reviews you might leave, tell me how you think that I did with the conversation between Karigan and Lady Estora. Thanks to you all.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: Captain Mapstone

**Only two reviews for the 5****th**** chapter. But I would like to have at least 20 total reviews for **_**Life on the Run**_**, if it's possible. And I'm really sorry about the long wait for you guys.**

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><p>Chapter 6: Captain Mapstone<p>

King Zachary gazed out of the window of his private sitting room of his apartments. Outside, songbirds were flying about on the trees that were in the castle gardens, there were a few Green Riders returning every once and a while from their errands, guards looked out over the battlements doing their jobs, and there was Drent below him, beating up another one of his students. Maybe he should go down and spend an hour or so practicing with Drent. But personally, he would like it much better if he was practicing with Karigan. He missed her so much and he felt longing for her to ride upon Condor under those castle gates again.

Few lord governors had already arrived at the castle: Lord Governors Mirwell, Oldbury, and Adolind. And already, Zachary has watched them, listened to what they're saying about the coming meetings that were soon going to start once all of the lord governors arrived. He found that, of the three that have arrived, two he was expecting not to agree to his marriage proposal, especially Mirwell. Zachary expected him to disagree with it just because of his hate for Karigan alone. He thought though, that maybe Estora and Alton's father would agree with it, and maybe even L'Petrie and Hillander. And if Estora agrees to the proposal, then there are the other two eastern provinces that would agree along with her. Since the three eastern provinces all end up agreeing to the same proposals, with Coutre Province being their "leader".

He wished that Karigan was with him now. She'd been gone for two weeks and he was just about to the point where he would ride to Coutre Province and force her to come back home. And he was right when he said that that one night with her before she left wasn't going to help him with the wait. If anything, it spurred the desire for her closeness, her touch, and her taste. He wanted her beside him right now, simply looking out of the window. And maybe, once everything settled down, and they hopefully were married or close to getting married, they would spend maybe a few months to a year in Corsa or somewhere in Hillander Province. Just somewhere where they can be each other and be together and alone.

There was a knock on the door and he turned from the window to see one of his many weapons looking in, "Captain Mapstone to see you sire."

"Yes," he said, "send her in." Zachary didn't feel up to talking with the Green Rider captain, but he was the king and it was his duty.

The weapon opened the door wide and let Laren inside Zachary's study. Once the door was closed again, she bowed to him and said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you your majesty."

"That's alright Captain," he replied, moving to sit in the chair again, "what is it that you need?"

Captain Mapstone shifted her eyes down to the floor anxiously, "I've come to ask if you would accept my resignation."

"What?" he asked, he still hasn't forgiven her for burning his letters to Karigan, but it wasn't enough for her to resign.

"Sire, my brooch has rejected me. I can't work here anymore," Laren said, looking back up at him.

Zachary felt like a fish, with his mouth opening and closing like it was, "As the Green Rider captain, but what of your advisor position?"

"That's what the resignation is for," Laren said, looking at him directly in the eyes.

"Is there a place where you can go once you leave?" Zachary asked.

"No, but I'm hoping that Rider Sir G'ladheon's father would provide some temporary shelter," she said. An eyebrow raised above the king's eye. And then Laren said, "Clan Chief G'ladheon and I have grown closer in the past couple of months." Zachary let a smile split his face.

"I can see that I'm not the only one whose heart has been stolen by a member of the G'ladheon family," he said, looking at her.

Laren blushed, slightly smiled, and looked away, "I don't know what you're talking about."

As soon as the smile appeared on both of their faces, they disappeared, and Zachary said, "I don't think that I'll ever forgive you for burning my messages to Karigan. But I will miss you Laren, I've known you all my life and have been a great and loyal friend to me. As an advisor, you're trustworthy, reliable, and strong of will. So don't hesitate to come to me when you need any help."

"I won't hesitate Zachary, don't worry. And I expected that you wouldn't ever forgive me for what I've done, all I care about is that our friendship isn't ruined because of it," Laren said quietly.

"It's not," he said, standing up again and rounding the desk to stand in front of her, "We're family in bond, and families always have their ups and downs. The messages were just a down part of our relationship."

"I'm glad . . . moonling," Laren said with another smile.

Zachary sighed and spontaneously swept Laren into a tight embrace. And the two best friends reveled in the comfort that were brought by each other. "You should get packed up then if you're leaving, Laren," Zachary said after a while.

He felt the sigh warm his chest after he spoke that. And then they let each other go again and separated, "Thank you Zachary, for everything."

"You have no need to thank me. All you've been is my best friend all my life, keep in touch," Zachary replied.

"I will," Laren replied.

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><p><strong>It was shorter than I expected, but I've started school and I've found myself working on one of my own works more than this. But anyway, I hope to have a songficchapter in a future chapter, most likely with KxZ. I've only just thought of the SxL (StevicxLaren) part of the story only just a few nights ago. So, even because of the length, I hope you like it. And remember, I'm looking for 20 reviews this time before I update again. Thanks. **


	7. Chapter 7: The Long Lost Brother

**I know that I said that I'd update when I got to the 20****th**** review. But I just typed it up and it's pretty important to the rest of the story. But now, I'm looking for 25 chapters now. Anyway, here's the 7****th**** chapter of **_**Life on the Run**_**. So enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 7: The Long Lost Brother<p>

She was scared, that much was certain; Karigan knew that she was afraid of this. It had to be Timas, who else did she kind of know who had _TM _as their initials? But, how would Timas know about her and Zachary's plan already? And, above that, how did he know that she was in Coutre Province?

Karigan looked around her anxiously and then her eyes fell upon the door, and then one of the windows beside it. Outside, Karigan thought that she saw someone looking into the establishment and at her. So she stood up and strode over to the door and she swung it open. But no one was there; instead, a man was running away from the building and wasn't looking back.

"Rider?"

Karigan turned to see the young woman who took her supper order, "Yes?"

"You're soup is ready at your table," she said, pointing to Karigan's vacant table.

Karigan cleared her throat and briefly glanced back down at Timas's letter still in her hand, "Thank you." The girl nodded and turned away and walked back to another table. Karigan looked back out into the streets again before going back into the inn and reclosing the door. She walked back to her table as calmly as she could and began to eat her soup and drink her ale.

After she was finished and the teenage girl picked her plate and cup back up, Karigan quickly gathered up the message and went to her room. Where she quickly locked the door, closed and locked the window, and closed the curtains before she finally thought about going to sleep.

As odd as it sounded, Karigan sat down on her single bed and thought happily of Zachary. She thought about how wonderful it felt like to kiss him. How it felt to have his arms wrap around her tightly and how she felt safe and protected while in his arms. It was almost like she would never have to worry about getting wounded again, or even killed while on an errand. How delightful it felt when he simply held her hand as they walked down the dark corridors toward his bed chamber. Her heart ready to burst out of her chest at the nervousness that she felt if they were to be seen. How shivers ran through her body as Zachary ran his hands through her hair and how she felt him shiver and press her tighter as she ran her hand through _his_ soft, amber hair.

Karigan found herself smiling stupidly as they all just continued in the privacy of her thoughts. And, after a while, Karigan realized how late it was getting. She slipped her boots off and laid in her bed without even thinking about changing. She fell into slumber as her dreams were filled with Zachary.

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><p>Stevic G'ladheon sat at his desk working on ledgers and inventory from the last season of trading. Usually, if Karigan was still here instead of at the castle working, she would be the one who would check the inventory or calculate the profits and losses for the G'ladheon Clan. But, Karigan's not here anymore and Stevic didn't see her returning anytime soon. So, he was stuck doing it.<p>

A knock at the door made Stevic look up and call out, "Come in."

Gretta opened the door and said to him, "There's a Green Rider here for you Stevic."

His ears perked up at the words, 'Green Rider' but he was able to keep his seat as he nodded and his sister ushered the messenger into his study. After she left again, he said to the king's messenger, "Please sit and rest." The Green Rider did so and let out a large sigh before Stevic asked, "Now, what do you have for me miss?"

The girl smiled slightly and pulled out her message satchel from under her and replied, getting them out, "One is from our Captain and the other is from High King Zachary."

She gave them to Stevic and as he opened the one from Captain Mapstone, he asked the girl, "Do you know of my daughter, Rider G'ladheon?"

"Karigan? I think she's been sent to Coutre Province on an errand. Um . . . we, as in all of the Green Riders, were sent with King Zachary and his army to fight against Mornhavon the Black. Karigan defeated him; she really is an exceptional swordswoman. And she's gotten a new sword, but no one knows where she got it from." The girl paused, thinking, "But other than that, she's as fine as a Green Rider could be."

Stevic nodded, reading over the captain's message. She said that her brooch had abandoned her finally, and that she had nowhere else to go. Laren asked if she could come and stay in the G'ladheon mansion until she could find a more permanent place to stay. He folded it up again and took up the King's message. And then he asked the girl, "Do you happen to know of any romances in my Kari's life?"

The messenger gaped at him and then leaned back in the chair, thinking. So, as she thought, Stevic opened King Zachary's message. "Do you know her well?" he asked her.

"Yes I do," she thought, "I don't _think_ that there's really anyone that she's interested in any men. _But_, we have noticed a change in behavior since we've returned from the battle against Mornhavon."

Stevic looked up at her with raised eyebrows, "Really? What kind of change?" He finally felt like he was onto something.

"There's a . . . oh how do you say it . . . her eyes sparkle when a certain person's name is said. And we, as in the other Riders, haven't really seen her much lately," she said.

"_Really?_ Whose name would that be?" he asked, getting very excited.

She hesitated, and then she cleared her throat and pointed to the letter in his hand, "You're about to read his message." Stevic froze, the king? Is his Kari in love with King Zachary? He looked back down and fumbled with the wax seal before quickly opening the letter and scanning its text.

_Clan Chief Stevic G'ladheon,_

_As Karigan's father, I believe that you should know that I love your daughter. I care about her deeply, as that comes with loving someone as I'm sure that you know. She is a brave, beautiful, stubborn, caring, kind, and simply an amazing woman that you've raised. And it's because of this, that I would like to ask you a question. I wish that I was able to ask it face to face to you but sometimes being the king of Sacoridia has its less liked features. I would like to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage. I promise you that I have and will treat her like the queen that she'll be from the moment that we walk back down the aisle. Karigan deserves to be looked after and cared for after all of the things that she has done for me and for Sacoridia. And even though she is a commoner, I will find a way to marry her, even if it meant resigning as king. _

_Please think about your answer. You do not have to have an answer immediately, and if you like, you may come to the castle and we can both talk it out. _

_Written by my own hand,_

_High King Zachary Hillander_

Stevic really felt like a fish at that moment, his mouth fell open and closed, and then open again. He was speechless; he couldn't believe it. _High King Zachary_ wanted to marry his daughter. It really was that serious? Apparently it _was_ serious, very, very serious. "Clan Chief G'ladheon?" the messenger asked.

He finally looked up at the other person in the room. "Um . . . do you have a place to stay the night Rider―"

"You can just call me Sophina," the girl said.

"Do you have a place to stay tonight Sophina?" Stevic asked.

"Yes, I'm staying at an inn in town," Sophina answered.

"Okay, then you're free to go," he said.

Sophina stood up from the chair and bowed briefly before turning and walking back out of the door. Stevic sat in silence for some time before standing and going to look out of the window. He watched the waves clash against the shore under him. That sea was his life when he was younger, when he was just starting out as a clan leader. And in a small log house on the shores of Black Island, his first child was birthed by his Kariny. Kariny, the love of his life and the holder of his heart, and the mother of his children.

Stevic thought about his first child, a son. Who disappeared one night when he and his mother went out one night to watch the stars. Kariny was carrying his Karigan in her womb at the time, so Karigan didn't know about her long lost elder brother. And he never told her about him either, as a way to hopefully prevent her from going out and looking for him herself. Stevic rested his head on the wall and continued to look out the window. He missed his son . . . Aleron.

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><p>After three weeks of being away from the castle, Karigan was oddly giddy to be back. The feeling of being trapped inside the castle walls still did not appeal to her at all, but Karigan figured that it was probably the fact that she would see Zachary again after all this time made her happy. Of course she was also happy to see her fellow Green Riders but she was happier to see Zachary again even more than the other messengers. She rode Condor under the last city gate before she reached the castle. People were walking about on their daily business, some were shopping, relaxing at a café with a friend, or working on selling their products or making their products.<p>

Condor trotted under the castle gate and into the courtyard. Karigan steered him towards the Rider stables to pass him over to a stable hand before going to give Lady Estora's reply to Zachary.

Karigan was still shaken up about the death threat by who she thought to be Timas Mirwell. And she intended to take it up with either Captain Mapstone or even Zachary himself. Even though it might just cost her her freedom of going back out on an errand, well then she'll just have to talk to King Zachary about it. And she still didn't know how he might know of her and Zachary's relationship, or even of their intent to marry. That question will probably just have to stay unanswered for a while.

Once she finally passed Condor's reins to Fergal, who was going stable duty, Karigan headed toward the one of the castle's many outside leading inside doors. She moved along the many corridors quickly, which resulted in Karigan's arrival at King Zachary's study within minutes. One of the weapons on guard knocked on the door and after a, "Come in," from inside, allowed Karigan to go through. The weapon opened the door and let Karigan go to and then closed it behind her after.

Karigan bowed to the king and noticed that someone was sitting in one of the chairs before the desk. "I'm sorry sire, I'll just come back later," she said, just about to turn back around.

"No, it's okay Karigan, it just your father," he said, smiling widely.

Karigan turned back around and gazed at the man in the chair. He turned around and he too was grinning, "Kari, haven't I told you that you can tell me anything." Both men stood from their seats and approached. Zachary came with a spring in his step and gripped her waist to lift her up and spin her around in the air, making her shriek. When he put her back down on the floor he held her face and kissed her deeply on the lips. Karigan returned it happily until they finally pulled away, panting for breath. Zachary wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him as they faced Stevic G'ladheon. Karigan's father asked her, "Are you happy Karigan, with Zachary?"

She looked up at the man beside her and smiled when they locked eyes. And then she said without looking away from him, "Yes." She and Zachary shared another kiss before both looking back at Stevic with smiling faces. "I am _very_ happy with Zachary. I couldn't be even more . . . fulfilled than I am when I'm with him," she said.

Stevic nodded and then said to Zachary, "Well, I'm satisfied, you have my permission."

Karigan looked at the both of them oddly, "What permission? What is he talking about?" she asked Zachary.

"You'll find out later love," he replied jokingly. Karigan huffed at the both of them. Zachary leaned down to whisper into Karigan's ear, "Karigan, there's something that your father needs to tell you." Then, he said to all of them, "Come and sit we all need to talk." He led them to a part of the study where there was a group of 5 chairs and a loveseat and they sat down in them; with Stevic in one of the chairs and Zachary and Karigan in the loveseat.

"Karigan," Stevic said, "there's something that I have kept from you ever since you were born."

"What?" Karigan asked, leaning into Zachary and giving her father an odd look. Zachary took Karigan's hand as Stevic visibly calmed himself. "What's wrong father?" she asked, a little worried.

"You . . . you're not my only child," he finally said, looking up into Karigan's eyes reluctantly.

Karigan stared at her father in shock, "What? Were you having an affair and you didn't tell me or . . .?"

"No no no no, there was _never_ an affair Kari. He's your blood brother with Kariny as his mother," Stevic replied quickly.

"W―well why haven't you told me about him? Where is he?" Karigan asked, feeling Zachary squeeze her hand comfortingly.

"He disappeared before you were born. I didn't want you to know because I feared that you would go out after him and look for him, then you both could be gone from me forever," Stevic said.

"How did he disappear?" Karigan asked.

"He and your mother went out one night to look at the stars. And he just walked off while your mother wasn't looking. We sent search parties out but never could find him. I'm sorry Kari, I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you all this sooner," Stevic said.

Karigan became teary eyed as she sat, trying to take everything in as calmly as possible. She looked up at Zachary and asked quietly, "Can anything be done to find him?"

Zachary wiped her tears and answered just as quietly, "I wish I could Karigan, but you and your family are still commoners and to call out a search party would cause suspicion among the lords―"

"To hell with the lords!" Karigan stood up from beside Zachary, "My brother is out there and hasn't been seen since before I was born! Those lords are supposed to think about the people who live within their provinces the least they could do is help to find someone who's gone missing!" And then she quickly took out Estora's reply to Zachary and gave it to him before storming out of the study and going back toward the Green Rider housing. Tears fell from her eyes freely, and Karigan didn't even try to stop them this time.

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><p><strong>This chapter is officially the longest chapter so far. Kind of important as now a new character is put into the picture. <strong>_**And**_**, now we all know how Karigan feels about the lord governors. I hope that you all enjoyed it. I'm looking for 25 total reviews now, even though this was posted earlier than what I said in the previous chapter. Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8: Life or Death

**Rider Sir Karigan Galadheon**-_**. . . I want you to continue the story not for the reviews of people you do not know ... but for the joy of writing ... reviews are a bonus.**_

This review will not get you to 25 review. Still, I hope you will post the next chapter as soon as you can. . .

Respectivefully

S

**Because of Rider Sir Karigan Galadheon's review, I'll no longer have a specific number of reviews to update. But as usual, I do appreciate the reviews that I do get. I would like to thank those who have reviewed in the past and still continue to. And I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to the victims and the heroes of the 9/11 attacks, since the 10****th**** anniversary has come and gone by a few days. **

****Characters except for those that I've created belong to Kristen Britain****

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><p>Chapter 8: Life or Death<p>

Karigan was at his side as they walked hand in hand down the sea shore. She was wearing civilians clothing, which showed her slender but muscular figure attractively. Zachary was wearing civilians clothing as well, with wool breeches, a loose, wool, working shirt, and a pair of brown boots on his feet. His auburn hair was bound behind his head and had a smile gracing his features as he walked. He felt happy, happier than he'd ever felt before. This simple thing such as walking with the woman that he loved was beside him and happy as well.

She stopped and their interlocked hands prevented him from moving any farther. Karigan's bound, beautiful, brown hair was taken up by the sea's wind and it draped over her shoulder. Zachary walked to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on her shoulder. He breathed in the combination of the sea air and his love's wonderful, intoxicating scent. Karigan covered his hands, which were clasped on her stomach, with her own and leaned her head to rest on his temple. Smiling, Zachary briefly kissed her cheek before returning to their original positions.

Zachary asked quietly, so as not to disturb the peace that he felt, "Are you happy Kari?"

Even through the sound of the wind coming in from the ocean, Zachary heard her sigh and replied, "Yes, much happier than at the castle." She paused and then added, "It feels really good to be back home."

He kissed her shoulder, "I love you Kari. I feel like the luckiest man on this Earth since I've married you."

Karigan looked up at him with a large smile, "And I too feel like the luckiest woman on this Earth ever since I've married you." She reached up and stroked his cheek, "I love you, my husband." They stared into each other's eyes and then shared a passionate kiss on the lips.

Then the scene changed to the stone walls of the castle. Zachary recognized it as his bed chamber's antechamber. Karigan was there again, staring out of the window. This time, she was garbed in a black and white gown fit for a queen. Her brunette locks were up in a bun and a small gold crown adorned her head. There were a few jewels around her neck, and wrist, but the one that Zachary noticed first was the gold ring on her left hand.

Karigan was sitting in a chair in front of the window. And when he approached her, she didn't seem to notice him as she continued to just stare out onto the castle grounds and even beyond the city limits. Zachary came up to stand beside her and finally looked at her face, then his heart froze and his blood drained. Tears were silently slipping down her cheeks, making what little makeup that she wore make marks down her face. She sniffled occasionally, but Zachary watched as lonely tears fell down her beautiful face. To say that he was horrified at what he saw was an understatement.

As the scene began to fade before him, Zachary heard a low and commanding voice say, _"Choose."_

The king of Sacoridia's eyes snapped open and he sat up from where he had lay on his bed. He felt a small tear fall from his eye at the hurt that he saw on Karigan's features in the last dream. He allowed more tears to fall for the loneliness that his love must have felt in the last dream. He knew that his love of his life might be feeling this same hurt this very night. And it was all because of him. Karigan was right when she shouted at him after he said he couldn't help her find her brother. She was right about the lords; she was right about it all.

King Zachary was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling when someone knocked hurriedly on his bed chamber door.

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><p><em>Five Minutes Earlier<em>

Karigan was walking down the empty Green Rider corridors in the wee hours of the morning. She had not been able to sleep, so she sought comfort with the warmth of her trusty horse and companion, Condor. As she was with Condor earlier, she had wondered what her brother was like. Was he more like herself and her father? Or was he gentler like her mother? Did he have brown hair or another color like . . . black? Did he have Stevic's eye color, brown? Or her mother's, like herself, blue? Did he have the fiery temper like herself and her father? There were so many questions, and all of them Karigan didn't have answers for.

As she neared her room, Karigan hugged her jacket closer to her to fight off the night summer chill in the air. She went into her room and closed the door behind her, and then she shed off the jacket and opened her small wardrobe to put it away when suddenly someone flew out of the wardrobe and attacked her. They stabbed her briefly in the waist and then they roughly pulled the knife back out of her, only to strike her again in the leg, chest, and abdomen. The attacker left the 6 inch knife in her stomach and looked on as Karigan was kneeling on the floor, bleeding profusely.

Karigan knew that she was about to die, she could feel her life draining out of her. But she couldn't let this man get away, not when he is so close to the king, to Zachary. So, with the last bit of strength in her, Karigan gripped the hilt of the knife and pulled it out again. She stood shakily to her feet and watched in the corner of her eye as her attacker's eyes widened. The corner of Karigan's mouth twitched in a slight grin and she launched herself at her attacker.

She made a counter-attack on him using his own knife. Karigan struck him in the chest, and then she kneed him in between his legs. The man cried out and doubled over before Karigan thrust the hilt of the dagger into the man's skull. Karigan's attacker fell backwards and quickly grabbed a hold of the edge of her desk. And then, she dropped the dagger and landed a punch in between his eyes, sending him even more backwards and crashing into the stone wall. His head left a bloody imprint on the wall before his motionless body slipped to the floor.

The edges of her vision grew hazy and Karigan fell to the wood floor. Already, there was a large puddle of crimson life under her and she had the vague feeling that she wasn't going to make it before someone found her. So, quickly, Karigan sent a prayer up to the Gods, before blacking out of blood loss.

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><p>Estral D'Yer was hearing something in one of the adjourning rooms of the Green Rider corridors. There was a thud that sounded then in Karigan's room and that was when she sat up in her bed. Beside her, Alton was still snoring the night away, but Estral quickly reached over and began to shake him awake. "Alton!"<p>

"What sweetheart," he mumbled sleepily.

"Get up, I think I heard something in Karigan's room," she replied, trying to pull him up.

"She must be getting close with some guy that she found last night," he replied, shaking her off and rolling onto his side.

"**ALTON!**" She climbed out of their small bed. Estral quickly slipped on her slippers and strode out of the room and down the corridor a few feet to Karigan's room. Estral pressed her ear to the door and listened for anything. She didn't hear anything. So she slowly opened the door and screamed loudly at what she saw.

Karigan was lying in a puddle of blood; wounds dotted her body like kisses from a lover, and what made Estral go in there was that those "kisses" were still bleeding uncontrollably. "ALTON!" she called as she picked up the jacket from the floor nearby and pressed it to the wounds on her best friend's body.

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><p>Alton instantly shot out of the bed once he heard his wife's scream. And he went straight to where he knew that she would be, Karigan's room. And what he found there, made the blood drain from his face. His best friend, Karigan, was lying unconscious in a deathly large puddle of her own blood.<p>

Instantly, he said to Estral, "Keep that jacket on her, I'm going to go and get help." First, Alton ran to the next room down the hall and banged his fist on the door. After a while, Mara opened the door with sleepy eyes.

"Alton, what―?"

"Mara, go and wake up Ben, Karigan's been stabbed. I'm going to go and get the king," Alton interrupted. Mara awoke instantly and quickly shouldered on a robe before they both continued on down the halls toward their destinations. Alton ran all the way to the western wing of the castle to King Zachary's private apartments. He slid to a stop in front of the posted Weapons and said, "I need to see the king, it's urgent." One of them, Fastion, nodded and opened the door leading inside. And together, they made their way to King Zachary's own bed chamber. Alton stayed in the antechamber as Fastion knocked on the door.

Seconds later, King Zachary opened the door as he was tying his robe together, "What is it Fastion?" he asked, Alton thought that he glanced in his direction for a moment.

"Something urgent has happened sire," Fastion replied, turning to look at Alton.

"What's going on?" King Zachary asked Alton.

Alton swallowed anxiously, just now remembering that the Karigan was in love with the king. And that King Zachary was in love with Karigan. He hesitated, but finally said after a moment, "Karigan, she's been stabbed sire."

King Zachary froze where he stood, "Is she alright?"

"We don't know sire. I came here before I knew anything else," Alton answered truthfully.

"We need to go then," King Zachary said, quickly walking past Alton and back into the apartments. Fastion and Alton glanced at each other before taking off after King Zachary. But when they reached the doorway leading into the corridor and he was already gone. They looked at each other again and then ran down the corridors toward the Green Rider halls.

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><p>His heart was beating frantically, it was moving so fast that he thought that it would burst out of his chest. King Zachary was running down the halls of his own castle to try to reach Karigan's room as fast as possible. He was so scared that those words that they had spoken last night would be the last. Those words were hurtful and something that they shouldn't have ended with. He should have gone and tried to find her and talk to her, just talk and try to work things out.<p>

He finally reached the Green Rider wing of the castle. And already, there were people gathered around the outside of her door. And then Rider Littlepage looked his way and shouted to the others, "Move, the king's coming!"

Zachary had by that time slowed down to a very fast walk; he passed them and entered Karigan's room. Ben was on his knees, beside her motionless body healing her through his ability. "Captain," he heard, "may we close the door?" Zachary didn't even glance at the speaker; his eyes were transfixed on the scene before him in horror. Her night clothes were covered in blood and there was still an entire puddle that was staining the floor. Rider D'Yer's wife was standing on one side of the room, also covered in blood, most likely Karigan's. She was gazing at him and briefly wondered why, but he didn't dwell on it.

Someone else came into the room and Zachary turned to find that it was Rider D'Yer, who closed the door behind him. "Moonling," Laren said, making him turn to her, "go, all of us here know about your relationship."

Zachary looked back at the love of his life and finally moved from where he stood before. He moved to where her head was lying on the floor and knelt at her head. And then he gently cradled her head in his hands and slowly lowered himself down onto the floor. He laid her head in his lap and lowered his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "Come on Kari, please make it through this. I know that you're strong, I know that you can get through this. Come on Kari." He closed his eyes and kissed her cheek and felt hot tears fall from his eyes.

"I'm getting weak I don't know how much longer I can hold this out," Ben said.

"Do you know how much you've healed?" Rider D'Yer's wife asked, who was now being held by her husband.

"I . . . maybe the waist and the leg, but the . . . most critical are the chest and abdomen," he answered, beginning to slouch where he knelt with his hand pressed down on Karigan's stomach.

"Don't give up Ben," Lady D'Yer said, "Please don't give up."

"If you were to stop know, could you start again later once you've recovered?" King Zachary asked hoarsely.

"I . . . I don't know, I haven't had to do that before," Ben answered. King Zachary looked up and then started to see Ben swoon and sway from side to side.

"Ben?" Laren asked, noticing his behavior.

"Ben are you okay?" Rider D'Yer asked.

Suddenly, Ben fell unconscious on his side. "Oh Gods," Laren said.

King Zachary gently put Karigan's head back on the floor and quickly stood and said, "Take her to the mending wing. And take Ben to his room where he can rest. And once he wakes, let me know," he said. Laren and Rider D'Yer nodded and gently picked up both Karigan and Ben and carried them out of the room. The other Green Riders followed Laren and Ben, leaving the king alone in Karigan's bed chamber. He sat on her bed slowly and looked around the room for the first time, blood was everywhere. There was some on the wall, where Karigan's attacker had been before Fastion carried him away. There was some on the bed, wardrobe, desk, but most of it was on the floor.

Zachary held his head in his hands, he thought, _I can't lose her._

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><p><strong>I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. It's just a little shorter than chapter 7, but that's just a little fun fact I guess. Anyway, there's no more specified number of reviews like I said in the beginning of the chapter. And again, this is dedicated to the victims of 911. **


	9. Chapter 9: Choices

**Warning: some language in the beginning of this chapter.**

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><p>Chapter 9: Choices<p>

"Damn!" Lord Governor Mirwell shouted after his assistant told him the news.

"My lord, there is still the chance that Rider Sir G'ladheon still may not make it," his assistant replied.

"I want that bitch dead!" he shouted again, this time throwing a vase into the wall. The pieces flew all over the place and skidded around the stone floor. He ordered his assistant, "Arrange a meeting with Lord L'Petrie. If I can't kill her on my own, then I'm having someone else participate. I will not have that _bitch_ be queen!"

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><p>The king of Sacoridia was sitting at his desk working on signing paperwork from various persons. Although, he was also waiting for Rider Lieutenant Connly and Chief Rider, Mara Brennyn to come after his summons about ten minutes ago. Zachary so desperately wanted to visit with Karigan and see how she was faring, but it was his duty as king to know who the next Captain of the Green Riders will be. Outside, birds were fluttering about, horses were grazing away in their pastures under the early summer sun, and he could even hear his beloved dogs as they played and barked at each other in their kennels.<p>

There was a knock on his study door and he said "Come in."

The study door opened and both the Green Rider lieutenant and chief rider walked into his study. They stopped just in front of his door and bowed low for him. "You sent for us your majesty?" Lieutenant Connly said.

"Yes I did, please sit both of you," Zachary replied, gesturing for them to sit in the two chairs in front of his desk. Once they were seated, he continued, "Firstly, I'd like to express my condolences for the attack upon Rider Sir G'ladheon, I'm sure that you all worry for her well being."

"Yes," Rider Brennyn replied, clearing her throat, "it has been hard. It's only happened two days ago but her wounds worry us all."

"Especially the most Senior of Riders, the few who still are here when Karigan was first called," Lieutenant Connly said.

Zachary nodded, thinking back to when he first saw his Kari, entering that throne room in a blur because of the Wild Ride. "I've summoned you two here because of only one reason. I'm sure that you've heard of Captain Mapstone's resignation," he said.

"Yes of course," Lieutenant Connly said.

"Well, I'd like to know who will take over as captain after Captain Mapstone leaves. I'm sure that Lieutenant, you will take over. Isn't it how it goes, since you're the lieutenant?" Zachary asked

"Yes, but you see your majesty, Rider Brennyn and I have been talking about it and we think that we would like to do something different this time," the Green Rider Lieutenant said, sliding up to sit on the edge of the chair.

King Zachary's eye brow raised in interest, "Enlighten me."

"Well, Rider Brennyn and I believe that neither of us are capable enough to take on the role of captain," he said.

"Is there someone else that you believe that is fit to take over as captain?" King Zachary asked, leaning forward and interlocking his hands on his desk.

The lieutenant and chief rider glanced at each other; Rider Brennyn shook her head. And then, after a moment, the Green Rider lieutenant said, "Rider Sir G'ladheon your majesty."

Zachary looked at Rider Brennyn, "You disagree Rider Brennyn."

"Your majesty, I'm sure that after all these years, you've gotten to know Rider Sir G'ladheon on a respectable level," she started. Zachary thought, _Think a little more than that Rider Brennyn._ "I believe that she wouldn't be able to handle being behind castle walls all the time. Rider Sir G'ladheon is a . . . she's independent and well her personality can't handle it. If she _did_ become captain Rider Sir G'ladheon would just become depressed.

"It's not that I don't think that I believe that K―Rider Sir G'ladheon would be a successful captain and leader, I just think that . . . I'm just thinking in the future, for her. Your majesty," Rider Brennyn stood from her chair, "I'm one of Karigan's best friends, and I just can't help but try to look out for her. Please, you have to understand."

King Zachary leaned over his desk, "I do understand Rider Brennyn. Trust me when I say that," he stood from his desk and rounded it to stand in front of the window, "Rider Sir G'ladheon and I have gotten to know each other well. It's definitely enough to allow her into my confidences. I think that considering what you both have said, about why Rider Sir G'ladheon should or should not be the new captain of the Green Rider corps, I have very quickly made my decision. There's no offence to the opposing Green Rider, but I believe that I have to agree with Chief Rider Brennyn.

"Rider Sir G'ladheon _is_ quite capable of leading this powerful group of devoted messengers, but, her desire for freedom and persistent stubbornness is in the way of this. And I would rather not lose a Rider to possible desertion or even death by their own hand when I had the power to prevent it. There's no doubt that if she were to be asked what she thought of this, Rider Sir G'ladheon would agree to being captain with no thorough thought whatsoever; since her life is drawn by her duty alone."

He leveled his gaze once again upon the two Riders before him, "Do you both understand this?"

"Yes your majesty," they both replied.

"Good," King Zachary returned to his desk where he sat down, "now, I would suggest that if you still wish to not take up the role of captain and find someone else that is capable of handling the job, then you should think about different possibilities. And if you change your mind and want to move up in the ranks Lieutenant Connly, then all you need to do is let me know."

The Green Rider lieutenant and chief stood from their chairs and replied, "Yes your majesty."

"Then your dismissed," he said, picking up his quill. They both bowed and walked out of the door silently.

Three hours later, the king of Sacoridia was trying to relax under the setting sun up on the roof of the castle. He was constantly thinking about Karigan and hoping that she was alright. But at the same time, he was thinking about what it could be like if they didn't have the crown in the way of them. He recalled all those years ago when he was talking to Laren, right before Karigan left to go to Blackveil with the Eletians. He told her that he could see himself being a mere farmer working the fields on a daily basis*. He wondered now if he wanted to still do that. Maybe it would be better if he started working with Stevic G'ladheon.

After a while, he left the roof to head back into the castle and in the direction of the mending wing to finally visit Karigan. He hoped that she was awake and was able to at least talk a little bit. But just as he was about to turn the corner of the mending wing, he heard, "Your highness?"

Frustrated, he closed her eyes and sighed. He turned around after settling his King's mask in place, "Yes?"

"Lord Governor L'Petrie would like to have a word with you," a Green Foot said.

"Thank you child, I'm on my way," King Zachary replied. He walked back in the way that he came and this time headed toward his study. And when he arrived, Lord L'Petrie was standing outside of this study door. But the lord wasn't alone, there was another woman with him. "Please, come inside my lord and . . .," he didn't know the woman's name.

"Lady Selima, your majesty. I'm his daughter," she said, curtsying.

"Yes, Lady Selima, you and your father can come in," King Zachary said.

After they were all seated in a chair, King Zachary behind the desk, Lord L'Petrie said, "I've come for two reasons. The first is most important to Rider Sir G'ladheon's life."

King Zachary leaned forward over his desk, "Please continue."

"It has come to my attention that Lord Governor Mirwell wishes to kill Rider Sir G'ladheon," the lord said.

King Zachary's heart was beating wildly, "How have you come to know this information?"

"Lord Mirwell himself has asked me to help him kill her," Lord L'Petrie answered, making shivers run down the king's spine.

He sighed and said, "Thank you for the information."

"There is one other thing your majesty," the lord said.

"Yes?"

"My daughter here, she's of age to marry. I was wondering if she could possibly stay here in the castle to heighten her chances of finding a suitor," Lord L'Petrie proposed.

"Of course Lord L'Petrie, your daughter is most welcome to stay here for as long as she wants," King Zachary replied. He stood from his chair, "Now, I would like to thank you again for the information that you have provided to me my lord and I'll make sure that Rider Sir G'ladheon is protected and Lord Mirwell arrested for what he's already done."

"You're welcome your majesty. My only hope is that that boy gets put behind bars. The Gods know how much frustration that he and his family have caused," Lord L'Petrie said, getting up from his chair as well as his daughter. He bowed to the king and Selima curtsied before they filed back out of the king's study. The king himself straightened out the invisible wrinkles in his clothes and he too left his study to go back to the mending wing to see Karigan.

This time, no one stopped Zachary as he finally reached the quiet corridor. In front of one of the rooms, were two Green Riders. They bowed their heads and allowed him to pass through and enter the quiet room inside. Inside, Stevic G'ladheon was already there, sitting at Karigan's bedside in a wood chair. Her father turned at his arrival and Zachary saw the dark color under the clan chief's eyes; he hasn't slept since Karigan was attacked. Zachary went to stand beside his love's father and he knelt so that he could hold her hand. "How is she?" he asked Stevic.

"She remains asleep," Stevic replied, sighing. "I worry that she'll never wake."

"Don't say that, please. You're her father, try to have faith in her strength and will to live," Zachary said. "Besides," he added, "I can't bear the thought of her not being in my life anymore."

"Do you want some time alone with her?" Stevic asked.

Zachary licked his lips and nodded, "If you would let me."

"It's fine," the chief ran his hand through his graying hair, "I need to get my sleep anyway."

"Go ahead, rest for as long as you need," Zachary said, laying a hand on Stevic's shoulder.

"Thank you," Stevic replied quietly. Sighing, Karigan's father stood from the chair and left the room.

Zachary took the chair then and leaned forward to hold her hand once again. Brushing the hair from her face, Zachary said, "Karigan, if you can hear me, then I've got some things to tell you. I want you to know that soon, I want to leave the throne to someone else. I want to make a new life with you, I want to have our children with you in peace without all of the politics."

Zachary watched as Karigan took in a deep breath and then another moments after, and then his heart leapt when he saw her open her eyes. Her eyes fluttered and her breathing became labored, she groaned. He stood from the chair and leaned over her, "Kari," he breathed.

Karigan took a deep breath and their eyes met for the first time in a while, "What do you want to be?" A small smile graced her lips.

Zachary chuckled and replied, "You heard what I was saying." She only nodded. "How are you? How much pain are you feeling? Do you want me to get a mender?"

"I asked _you_ a question first," she said hoarsely.

Zachary smiled and caressed her cheek, "I was thinking either a farmer or working with your father, if he would have me."

"Of course he would have you, trust me he loves you," she replied, quirking a smile again.

"Not as much as you I hope," he said leaning in closer to her.

"No, not as much as I do," Karigan replied reaching up to bring him down. They shared a short but passionate kiss before Karigan had to fall back onto her pillows, her face showing pain all over.

Zachary stood and said gently to her, "I'll be right back, I'm going to go and get Ben." His love nodded, groaning again, before he left the room quickly to find the mender that he knows that will save her life. He didn't have to look for long, since the mender was just walking down the corridor towards him.

He bowed to Zachary, "What does your majesty need of me?"

"Rider Sir G'ladheon is awake and in need of some help with the pain that she's experiencing," Zachary said to him.

"Really?" Ben asked, and then he nodded and said to him, "I'll be right there your majesty."

"Thank you," Zachary replied, turning back around and heading back to Karigan's room.

When he entered again, he found that Karigan had struggled to sit upright in her bed. But she was wincing and her features showed agony as small but few tears fell down her cheeks. He rushed to her side, "Karigan! Why did you sit up?"

"I got tired of laying down," she replied. She gave him a threatening look before he pressed on her shoulder to lie back down.

Once Karigan was lying on the bed again, he said, "Ben is coming."

She nodded slowly and then turned her head to the side weakly to look at him, "Zachary."

"Hmm." He squeezed the hand that he held.

"Is there _anything_ that can be done to find my brother?" she asked.

Zachary brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly, "Kari―"

"Please, he may be my older brother, but he's the only possible sibling that I have," she said.

He heard footsteps coming down the hall. He caressed her cheek with his thumb, "I find a way."

There was a knock on the door. Zachary said quietly, "I love you."

Karigan smiled, "I love you too," she whispered in reply.

They exchanged another quick kiss before Zachary called for Ben to come in. He stood on the sidelines as he examined his Kari and then gave her some kind of drink for the pain before leaving again. And as Karigan's eyes were drifting closed, Zachary sat in the chair again. Vowing to stay there for as long as he possibly could.

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><p><strong>Well, I'd like to thank you all again for all of the reviews that I've been getting. I'm really happy to hear that you all like my writing. So, if you're all interested, I have an account on Writer's Café under the username of rediscovery. There, I have many, many more books that you can all read and I'd like to know what you think of them if you do read them. Anyway, I'm planning on having a few chapters in the future that will include the lyrics to a certain song. So tell me what you think about that too. (*Blackveil, page 176*)<strong>

**Thanks, **

**thylacine67**


	10. Chapter 10: The Mysterious Eletian

**Sorry for the long wait, I've been so busy and haven't had time to do much of anything. And then, once I got it finished last night, the internet wasn't working again, so now it's up for you all. Anyway, here's the new chapter, chapter 10, for Life on the Run. It's pretty important since the "life on the run" part of the story get's put into action (if that makes any sense). Well, enjoy the chapter.**

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><p>Chapter 10: The Mysterious Eletian<p>

Lady Selima walked down one of the many halls of the mending wing, with her destination being close by. That destination was guarded by two green riders with their swords drawn and in front of them, point downward. The lady had just come from a tea visit with King Zachary himself, and had conversed with him privately. And he had told her of his increasingly intimate relationship with the Green Rider who lay in the room behind the rider guards. And because of his worry over her, Lady Selima decided that she should go and watch over her in his stead while he was in a meeting.

The lady approached the guards and said to them, "May I watch over her?"

"In the room with her?" one of them asked.

"Of course, besides I would like to meet Sacoridia's knight," Lady Selima said. And then she added, "You can even search me if you worry that I might harm her if you like."

The Green Rider guards glanced at each other and then one nodded, "No need, go on in my lady."

Lady Selima inclined her head, "Thank you." The guards let her pass and the lord governor's daughter quietly opened the door to the rider's room. Once inside, she closed the door and turned to gaze at the woman who the king was in love with. She looked almost peaceful in the way that she slept. The blankets went up to her chest and she lay unmoving underneath them. Her arms were lying on her sides on top of the sheets. Beside the small bed, there was a chair that looked like it had been occupied by someone soon before she came, since there was a coat hanging on the back of it. In the hearth, a small fire was consuming the few logs that were offered to it. Above the hearth, there was a small window that let in some sun to light the room.

The lord governor's daughter quietly stepped forward and went to the chair and sat inside it, quietly sighing as she settled into it, lightly smoothing out the skirt of her gown. And then, as if someone else controlled her, Selima lightly grasped the woman's hand. "If you can hear me," she said, "I'm sure that you know, or expect, that the king worries about you very much. He wishes that you'd wake soon. He confided to me that he wants so much to come down here. But every minute of every day, he's trapped by his job as king. I really wish that you'd wake, so that you could ease his worries and fears yourself."

There was no response from the slumbering woman for quite a while, and then, Rider Sir G'ladheon slowly opened her mouth to take in a deep and shuddering breath. Selima jumped up from her chair and called, "Guards! Get in here!"

The two Green Rider guards burst into the room and said, "What's wrong my lady?"

Pointing to the woman in the bed, "I think she's waking up!"

The three people in the room turned their attention to Karigan, who had by this time, began to shiver furiously. One of the guards came to the bed and gently felt her forehead and then turned sharply to her comrade. She said, "Fever." The other guard immediately turned and ran out of the room, most likely in search of the master mender.

"Could the wounds be festering?" Selima asked.

"It's a definite possibility, but pray to the Gods that they aren't," the guard replied. "Wait for the mender to get here, and then go and notify the king of what has happened. The king needs to know," he added.

At that moment, the door opened again and the master mender strode into the room with a bag of supplies. He shooed the guard away from the shivering, yet feverish body on the bed and began to work without a word. The guard glanced at her and then silently left the room again to return to his post outside the door, and Selima simply sat down in a nearby chair and began to wring her hands. She sat down, and she waited, watched him work.

After a few minutes of examining her, the mender turned around and faced her eye-to-eye. Selima stood from the chair and asked, "Well? What's happening? Is she going to be alright?"

Her heart beat 10 times faster when she saw a saddened look come down upon the mender's features, he said quietly, "Someone will need to tell the king that . . ."

"What? Tell him what?" Selima coaxed.

The master mender took a deep breath and told her.

* * *

><p>This was it, it was finally time for the beginning of many meetings between himself and the other lord governors. At this meeting, King Zachary would make the proposal of a marriage between himself and Karigan. He had done some 'research' before the meeting. Before today, he had called each lord governor into his study for a small talk, just so that King Zachary could possibly figure out who may be with him and who may be against his proposal. The lords that he thought would be with him were Lady Estora especially, Hillander, L'Petrie, D'Yer, and Adolind. The odds didn't look good, having the support of 5 out of the 13* lords that sat here today.<p>

Now he sat, waiting for all of the lords to arrive to the meeting room. His hands were beginning to get clammy and his temple was starting to twitch with his anxiety. He was on edge, at least, as much as a king could be in front of all of his lords. And he frequently found himself looking out the nearest window to look out onto the castle grounds and beyond, hoping that that would help ease him. After a while, the door opened and Lady Estora walked in. She was dressed in a fine gown of satin that was the colors of Coutre province and that had a beautiful square neckline. She glanced at him and then approached where he sat.

King Zachary stood and greeted the lady, his ex-wife, with a firm handshake, "How was your night my lady?"

"It could have been better. My sleep was constantly plagued by worries for Rider Sir G'ladheon," Lady Estora confided quietly to him.

He nodded, "You weren't the only one." They separated and the king sat back down as the lady took her seat down the table a ways.

After another ten minutes, all of the lords were gathered around the meeting table. The door was closed and the hot air was thick, even with the windows wide open to let in fresh air. King Zachary cleared his throat and that made each and every one of the lords go silent. "My lords, we gather here this afternoon for one reason. And that is to unify Sacoridia by . . ." he paused anxiously, "by marriage."

"Who will we be unifying?" Lord Mirwell asked, leaning back arrogantly in his chair.

All of the lords looked back at King Zachary, who took a deep breath before answering, "The nobility and the common people."

That's when things erupted. The room was suddenly filled with noise as the lord governors suddenly began shouting at him and shouting at each other. In the mayhem, no one noticed one of the lords slip out of the room. While, at the same time, the only thing that the king wanted was to have peace in the room; a headache was starting to form in between his eyes. As the mayhem continued with the king sitting in his seat rubbing at his temples, the door to the meeting room opened and in walked one of his trustworthy Weapons. He approached the king and whispered into his ear, "Eletians outside the city walls your majesty."

King Zachary sighed, "Let them in. I'll be down in the throne room in a moment."

Bowing, the Weapon replied, "Yes your majesty." And then he walked back out of the room. Closing his eyes, the king thought, _The Eletians couldn't have come at a worse time._

Standing from his chair, effectively shutting everyone up, King Zachary said to them, "This meeting shall be postponed until the marrow. As other things have come up that I must attend to." And then, without another word, he strode out of the meeting room and began to head down the hall towards his throne room, where he'll be meeting the Eletians.

On his way down to the throne room, King Zachary came upon Lady Selima coming down from the opposite direction. Upon spotting the king, the lady stopped and then waited for him to come to her. She said, "Your majesty, there's something that you might need to know."

King Zachary stopped in front of her and asked, "What? I need to get to the throne room as soon as possible."

Lady Selima swallowed anxiously and wrung her hands, "It's Rider Sir G'ladheon your majesty. Her . . . her wounds are starting to," she looked up at him to say into his eyes, "they're starting to fester your majesty."

What did he just hear? Please he didn't just hear what he thought he heard. "What?" he asked.

"Infection is starting to set in your majesty. The menders don't know how it happened, but she . . . she's started to fever," Selima replied quietly.

All King Zachary could do was just stare at the lady in front of him. This couldn't be happening! Fever? He couldn't lose Karigan, not after all they've been through together! He refused to believe it, and yet, he knew that it was true. King Zachary could see the fear in the lady's eyes. He looked down at his feet, closed his eyes then, and leaned against the stone wall. "I have to tend to something Lady Selima, if you don't mind, would you stay with her until I can go and see her?" he asked.

"Of course your majesty," the lady replied.

"No, call me Zachary, when we're alone," King Zachary said before she could turn away. Lady Selima nodded and then turned back the way that she came from. King Zachary gathered himself up and then stood upright again before continuing on down toward the throne room.

When he arrived, he immediately went to the throne and sat down upon it. As soon as he got settled into it, the doors to the throne room opened and 2 Eletians strode into the room. King Zachary raised his king's mask and sat up regally in his throne. "Greetings," he said to the Eletians.

"Greetings Firebrand," one of them said, the most odd of the pair. This Eletian had brown hair instead of gold or silver colored hair that he was used to. And then the same Eletian said, "We understand that you have a Green Rider in your healing quarters."

King Zachary wiggled were he sat, how did they know that Karigan was in the mending wing, "You are correct."

"If you would King Zachary, would you clear the room?" the brown haired Eletian asked.

King Zachary looked around the empty room, "There's no one here."

"Then your guards at the door, no one should hear what I have to say other than you," the Eletian said.

King Zachary sighed and then nodded to the guards posted at the door and most of the weapons that were posted in their shadowy caverns of the room. After they had gone and the door was shut, Zachary asked, "What is it that you need to tell me?"

"You're Knight and Rider, Rider Sir G'ladheon, is potentially close to death. Well our Prince has foretold a fate for that rider if she is not out of the area by the time your clock strikes midnight. One of your plans her death right at this moment," the brown haired Eletian said, his companion remaining silent and merely an observer to the conversation.

"How do I know that you're telling me the truth? And why would the Eletians care about Rider Sir G'ladheon? Why should I trust you?" King Zachary asked.

The Eletian glanced at his companion, who nodded silently, and then said, "I have been watching over Rider Sir G'ladheon since she was born. We share a connection that you cannot even begin to describe." At that moment, King Zachary noticed that the Eletian started showing a Sacoridian accent; his brows furrowed. The Eletian smiled, "Of course you've noticed my accent. Yes, I am one of your kind, but because of my mother, the Eletians took me as one of their own and trained me to be one of their many guards that protect their borders."

King Zachary's eyes narrowed, "Who are you?"

"That, I will reveal in my own time," the Eletian said. "Right now, you have more things to worry about. My compatriot and I can take Rider Sir G'ladheon to a safe place where we can have our own healers heal her. The next time that you see her, she will be healed, or extremely close to it," he said, walking up the dais to stand in front of the king and his throne.

"If I let her go with you, what will happen once she's healed?" King Zachary asked.

The Eletian sighed, "Not even our Prince knows for sure. His power of telling the future does not go that far."

King Zachary studied the Eletian before him, not even minding how close they were to each other. He knew that it had to be Mirwell that was trying to kill her, and with Karigan's wounds festering, it would be a much easier task to finish the job. And he couldn't let that happen, if there was someone there to help her, then he would have to take it. Standing and taking his crown off and setting it on the throne, King Zachary finally said, "Fine. As long as Rider Sir G'ladheon is safe."

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><p><strong>Again, I'm so sorry for the two month lack of updates. School has been terrible and I barely have time to breathe. But I hope that you all like the chapter. Thanks.<strong>


	11. Chapter 11: Escape

Chapter 11: Escape

_There were many many trees around her. Karigan thought that she was in the middle of a forest. But she didn't know what forest, nor where it was located. She didn't see anything but the trees around her. Except for up ahead, there, she saw some kind of glow, a white, almost silver, glow. She had no idea what she thought it was. But, despite the uncertainty of the situation, Karigan began wandering that way, just to find out what it was. There was no sound from any animals at all, not even the calls of the crickets that one would usually hear at this time of night. _

_After a while, Karigan finally went through the tree line, uncovering a clearing with one being standing in the middle. It looked like a woman, dressed in a milky silver dress that was loose on her body and rustled to an invisible wind. The woman was almost regal in posture and yet, she was still young and beautiful in the face. Long, thick, flowing, silver hair cascaded down her shoulders and back in subtle waves. Karigan recognized her immediately as the dead queen of the Eletians. Queen Laurelyn. _

"Daughter of Kariny, welcome,"_ the queen said to her; her voice seemed to echo as if it was going through time itself._

_Karigan glanced around her, and then asked, "Where exactly where am I?"_

"They are your dreams Daughter of Kariny. But I am here with you now to show you of what is to come in the future," _Queen Laurelyn said walking toward Karigan to stand in front of her. _

"_Why?" Karigan asked. _

"You will face troubling times ahead. I must show you a few scenes of your future so that you can know that it is not the end of you,"_ Queen Laurelyn answered. _

"_What's going to happen?" Karigan asked, allowing herself to be led by the queen toward the opposite side of the clearing. _

"You shall find out very soon Daughter of Kariny,"_ the Eletian answered, receiving a frustrated sigh from her companion. _

"_I guess I have no other choice. I'm sure that you'd show these to me soon enough. If not you, then most likely someone else," Karigan said. The queen chuckled and led Karigan toward the tree line opposite from where Karigan first found her. Once they got closer, Karigan began to see another light; it was almost shaped like a door or archway. Then, curiosity got the best of her and Karigan passed the threshold of light right beside the Queen of Eletians._

_***Scene 1***_

Karigan looked around her; she seemed to be standing inside this small room. Queen Laurelyn was still standing beside her, looking down upon her, almost as if she was interested in what her reaction would be to seeing scenes to her future. To tell the truth, Karigan was a little apprehensive about it all, but then, she was also extremely curious about it all. Karigan got even more curious about it all once she saw herself looking at herself in a mirror.

The other Karigan was standing in front of a mirror dressed in a silver colored dress that looked like it was made from silk. The sleeves were incredibly thin (spaghetti straps) and rested on her shoulders softly. The top of the dress hugged Karigan's curves until the dress reached her waist, then the fabric draped down her legs; allowing free movement. Her hair was put up in a bun that was a little loose. Her new sword was on its belt hanging off the back of a chair.

There was a knock on the door just as the other Karigan was smoothing down invisible wrinkles on her dress. The door opened and Karigan saw her father come into the room. He looked around the room, and he even looked right through where Karigan and Queen Laurelyn stood. He looked back at his daughter that stood in front of the mirror. "How are you?" he asked.

The other Karigan looked away from the mirror to look back at her father, "I'm a little nervous . . . scared."

Stevic's brows furrowed, "What are you scared about? Are you having second thoughts?"

Karigan shook her head quickly, "No no, I'd never have second thoughts about doing this. But, what if the Mirwellians find out where I am?"

"Kari lass, if they did, Zachary wouldn't allow them even 50 leagues away from here," Stevic said. "You'll be fine," he said, gathering his daughter in his arms for an embrace. "Everything will be okay," the he chuckled, "In my opinion, the only thing that you might want to be nervous about is the wedding night." Both Karigans got red in the face. Then Stevic went on to say, "I remember your mother and I's wedding night―"

"Da!" the other Karigan said, "Please don't go there." Stevic laughed.

After he calmed down, Stevic asked, "Are you ready? All the guests are seated and Zachary is just sweating with anxiousness." The other Karigan glanced back to the mirror before nodding to her father.

"I'm ready," she said.

Stevic nodded too and then tucked the shorter, blonde hair behind her ear, since it was too short to fit into the bun. "Okay then," he sighed, "let's go and get you married then."

Karigan looked up at Queen Laurelyn and the Eletian queen looked back down at her, Karigan asked, "Is this it or . . .?"

"_No, we're going to follow them,"_ Queen Laurelyn answered. Karigan nodded and followed behind the father-daughter duo as they left the room and down a set of stairs. Karigan looked around the little village that they now walked across behind Karigan and her father. The village wasn't much, but it looked like it could house at least 500 people comfortably.

After a while, Karigan saw a larger building compared to the others. The double doors leading inside were wide open to let people look inside, there were pews that were almost filled the church. Music was playing inside and Karigan caught a glimpse of an alter. Now rather reluctantly, Karigan continued following her future self and her father. She felt a gentle hand on her back; Karigan knew that Queen Laurelyn knew what she was feeling, and for some reason, Karigan had to see this.

The other Karigan and her father didn't stop once they reached the inside of the church. Karigan's heard started to beat frantically, almost as if she was going through it at that exact moment. The music changed and got louder as Karigan and her father started down the church isle. Karigan and Queen Laurelyn settled in the back of the church to watch. Karigan couldn't help but gaze as her would be husband and admired how handsome he looked. He wasn't garbed as Sacoridia's high king; he was just wearing a plain wool overcoat over a cotton dress shirt, a pair of breeches, and a pair of shined boots. His auburn hair was loose with no crown atop his head. Karigan thought that he even better than what she usually saw him wearing. Zachary looked like a man, a normal, hard-working man.

Karigan watched from the back of the church as the other Karigan and her father reached the end of the isle. Zachary stepped down from before the alter to now stand in front of Stevic and Karigan. Stevic and Zachary exchanged a few words that Karigan couldn't hear from the back and then Stevic joined Karigan and Zachary's hands.

Queen Laurelyn nudged her arm so Karigan looked away from the scene before her. The Eletian queen said, _"It is time Daughter of Kariny. I only have limited time to illustrate these to you and I still have one more scene to show you. We must leave now so that you may see both of them before you wake."_

Karigan swallowed past the lump that was beginning to form in her throat. "B―but it's only just started. Must we leave now?"

"_Yes, we must,"_ the queen replied, _"Besides, this is your future, so I can't show you too much."_

Karigan glanced back at her own wedding playing out right in front of her and then nodded, defeated. She said quietly, "Let's go then." Before she knew it, Queen Laurelyn took her hand and her vision was blinded by a bright white light.

_***Scene 2***_

Now it was dark again, and Karigan found herself in a forest again. But only this time, Queen Laurelyn was standing beside her again, guiding her along through these visions of her own future. This time, though, it was raining a bit heavily. And yet, Karigan and the Eletian queen were not being hit by the rain drops that fell through the tree limbs above them. Queen Laurelyn said, taking her hand again, _"Come, this way Daughter of Kariny."_

Queen Laurelyn led Karigan deeper into the forest, she led Karigan toward a destination that Karigan had no idea.

Until Karigan and the Eletian queen suddenly came upon a small camp site occupied by only one. And yet again, Karigan saw her own face that was shadowed and sheltered under the hood of a cloak. This time though, Karigan thought she saw something that the other her was holding protectively to her chest. Upon further inspection, the other Karigan had tears running down her cheeks that slightly mixed with the rain that fell from the skies.

Karigan couldn't smother the need to come forward closer to the other her. She needed to find out two things: what she was carrying, and why she was crying. And she wasn't going to find out by standing almost 20 feet away from the camp. She knelt down on the other side of the fire and looked into the face of her future self. And then Karigan heard something, it was coming from whatever the other Karigan was holding close to herself. When Karigan focused on that, she saw the bundle in her future arms; it caused her breath to hitch. It was a baby.

"_I wish that there were better visions of you with your child. But this is as peaceful as I could possibly find within this time period,"_ Queen Laurelyn said from behind her.

"Why am I crying?" Karigan asked quietly.

Karigan heard the queen sigh from behind her, _"That child is no more than a day old. The village that you birthed in was torched once the Mirwellians found you. You managed to escape from their capture before they could find out your exact whereabouts."_

"And where is Zachary?" Karigan asked, staring at the child bundled up in as many blankets that the future her could gather up.

"_He doesn't know of your labor. He knew of your pregnancy, but not of your going into labor. Right now he is still at the castle, trying to help you from the inside,"_ Queen Laurelyn answered.

Karigan didn't know what to do, so she just knelt beside the fire, staring at her future self holding her upcoming baby. And then she asked Queen Laurelyn, turning around, "What was the gender?"

"_You graced your husband with a son,"_ the queen replied, also gazing at the scene in front of her.

Karigan swallowed past the lump that was beginning to form in her throat, and then she asked Queen Laurelyn, "Is this the last scene?"

She heard the queen sigh and then say, _"Yes. You will be awakening from your sleep any moment now."_ And then she said, bringing Karigan back to her feet, _"But I must tell you one last thing before you wake. This is your future, no matter what road you take in your awakened state, you will already have taken before what I have shown you. Like I have said before, you are coming upon trying times for both yourself and those you love the most. But, you must remain strong, and sure in your decisions that you will make. Trust those who you love and those who you rely on the most, because if you make one mistake, it can and will cost you your life. Do you understand?"_ Karigan blinked and thought all of the information over in her head, and then she nodded slowly. Queen Laurelyn was looking at her very seriously and then she too nodded and then said with a hint of finality about it, _"Good. Then I bid you much luck Daughter of Kariny. And I bless you with much happiness."_

The next thing that Karigan knew was the blackness the surrounded her, as well as the unbearable pain that engulfed her. Trying to dilute the pain, Karigan took a shallow breath in and opened her eyes slowly.

The first thing that she saw was the deadly smiling face of Lord Governor Mirwell. And above his head, he pointed a dagger right to her chest.

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><p>Leaving his crown on the cushion of his throne, King Zachary took off down the length of the throne room and into the castle corridors. He knew that his faithful Black Shields were just steps behind him, and he knew that behind them, was the two Eletians who would take his Kari away to be healed in the peace of the Eletians. It mattered not that he wasn't acting like the king that he was supposed to be, all that he cared about was getting to Karigan before Lord Mirwell did and finished what he had started.<p>

As he passed windows to the castle, King Zachary glanced out of them to see pitch blackness; it was as if time as against him. He had to get Karigan out of the castle before midnight this night. Then and only then would Karigan be safe in the care of these strange Eletians. It was that thought that pushed the king to his physical limit. He ran the entire way to the mending wing. And the only thing that he stopped momentarily for was to draw a blade out of a decorative wall piece just in case he should need it.

Once he made it to the mending wing, the first thing that he noticed was the Green Rider guards that had posted themselves at Karigan's door were lying on the floor of the hallway. They were lying in a puddle of their own blood and two Mirwellian soldiers had taken their place. The Black Shields immediately took the lead in front of King Zachary and charged at the two men. With the point of the Weapon's blades at their neck, they surrendered without incident and knelt on the plush carpet. They held up their hands in surrender to King Zachary and his Weapons.

King Zachary ignored them and turned the handle on the door to Karigan's room. He found with increasing anxiety and apprehension that the door was locked. Glancing around at his Weapons and the Eletians, he mustered up his left over strength and rammed his shoulder into the door. The wood split right down the middle but didn't break. Taking a deep calming breath, he gathered his strength again and this time kicked on the door. The door split in two and one part of it fell to the floor and the other still remained attached to the hinges. King Zachary stormed through the threshold and was met with a frightening sight.

Lord Mirwell was standing over Karigan as she was lying on her sick bed. And he was holding a dagger high above his head in preparation for the final killing blow. Without having a second thought, King Zachary charged Lord Mirwell and just as he was bringing down the dagger, King Zachary rammed his shoulder into the lord. Lord Mirwell fell to the side and cried out in pain as his hip hit the stone floor heavily. The dagger slipped from the lord's grip and fell to the floor with a clang and it slid away from Lord Mirwell's reach. King Zachary brought up the sword from the wall decoration and struck the lord in the head with the pommel. The lord fell limp instantly.

King Zachary dropped the sword and rushed to Karigan's bedside. Her eyes were wide open and her breathing was shallow. She asked weakly and very hoarse, "What in the hells was that?"

He couldn't help but smile, "That," he said, "was me saving you." King Zachary bent and said, "This is going to hurt, but stay with me Kari." He gently wiggled his arms under her and carefully lifted her up and into his arms. Karigan tensed, winced, and even cried out in pain as King Zachary tried to get her as comfortable as possible while in his arms. He whispered, "Stay with me. You're almost done Kari, just hang on."

"W―what are you doing?" she asked, her eyes started to droop again.

"We must leave now Firebrand," the strange Eletian said urgently.

"I know let's go," King Zachary said, carrying Karigan carefully out of the room. King Zachary took the lead again as he walked down the castle corridors as quickly as he could without hurting Karigan more than she already was. It felt like it was hours that went by by the time that they finally made it to the courtyard before the gates. In the middle of the courtyard, there was an elegant looking covered wagon. There were two, beautiful, snow white horses that were harnessed to the front of the wagon to pull it.

The brown haired Eletian ran to the front to open a door to the back of the wagon and pulled himself up and onto the wagon. King Zachary stood at the back of the wagon and waited as the Eletian sat down on the edge of the door. Gently, they transferred Karigan from one man to another. The Eletian scooted back and struggled to his feet to walk over to a bed inside of the wagon. Gently, he lay Karigan on the bed and then stepped back, looking at the king expectantly.

King Zachary climbed up onto the wagon and walked to the bed where he knelt down. The Eletian left and closed the door to prevent everyone else from looking inside. King Zachary grabbed Karigan's hand tightly and he heard her ask sleepily, "I don't understand. What's going on?"

The king swallowed past the lump, "Karigan, you're wounds have started to fester with infection. You have a fever and are dying. I'm sending you with some Eletians that have said that they can heal you. I have no other choice but to let them take you." He stroked her cheek with his thumb, "I can't lose you Karigan. Not now, not when we've just―"

King Zachary was interrupted when he heard shouting and the scream of steel against steel. "Your majesty, they need to go _now_!"

King Zachary closed his eyes and then pushed back the hair from his love's beautiful face. "I love you Karigan," he said, right before he bent and captured her mouth with his. Karigan responded as much as she was able and then they separated.

Just as the king was getting back up, Karigan was able to say quietly, "I love you too Zachary." King Zachary gave her a sad smile before he left the wagon and closed the door.

King Zachary was immediately surrounded by his Weapons and he realized that Mirwellian soldiers had come out to meet them with swords rather than words. King Zachary shouted, "Stop! That's an order!" He looked back momentarily to see the Eletians slip away from the fight and run to the wagon and climb up to the front seat. And then he cracked the reins and the two horses sprung forward at an immediate gallop out of the gates of the Sacoridian castle. He thought, _God's speed to you._

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><p><strong>Well, here's the next chapter for you all. I'm really sorry that it took so long to update, but I've had school and then the publishing of my first book that I've had to get done. I really hope that you all like the chapter since it's now the longest chapter in the fanfic so far. If you all can, I'd really like more than two reviews this time. Thank you all for your understanding.<strong>

**And one more thing, I may not be able to update again until after the holidays. So I'd like to wish everyone an early Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc. **

**thylacine67 **


	12. Chapter 12: Brother and Sister Reunited

**I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I'm still in the middle of publishing my book Rediscovery, but I've made it a priority to try and get another chapter for you all. This chapter is another important one, with a different POV. So without further ado, here is chapter 12.**

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><p>Chapter 12: Brother and Sister Reunited<p>

He heard Karigan moaning in pain from her wound from inside the carriage. And each time, it sent his heart leaping up into dangerous places. What if she didn't make it to the medical building? Of course he would feel guilty about maybe not pushing the horses farther, or getting there sooner. But also, it would break his own heart . . . shatter it to pieces. He wouldn't have even gotten the chance to know her. Who was Karigan? He had already heard much from word of mouth from his Eletian friends and other border guards like himself.

He had only been told of his relationship to this legendary woman only a week prior to leaving to rescue her. Now that he knew that his mother had birthed another after he had left the family, he felt guilty that he had left at all. Yes, he was very young and didn't know what he was doing. But that didn't matter to him, he felt sorrowful for not being able to see his little sister grow up to be the woman that she is. On top of all of this, Aleron's mind kept going back to the way that the king treated his sister. He didn't know what to think about it. Was there something going on that no one else knew about? Were they lovers?

Aleron won't find out if he didn't do something to help her live until they could get to the Sithiuym, their medical building. It was just past the Eletia-Sacoridia border to the north.

Aleron looked behind him and past the carriage to see if they were being followed. They weren't. So he quickly but smoothly pulled the horses up to a stop and hopped down from the seat. He gave the reins to his companion, Ralean, "You take over until either we reach the Sithiuym or the horses are about to collapse."

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to watch over my sister to try to make up for all these years that I haven't," Aleron replied, already walking away toward the back of the carriage. He quickly opened the door and climbed up and then reclosed the door. He called out to Ralean, "I'm in, go!" And then he felt the carriage lurch forward and felt it move under him.

He grabbed a piece of cloth from a basket at the wall of the carriage and then went to an empty water basin. He muttered a spell to create water and directed it into the water basin. He dipped the cloth into the water, ringed it out, and then went back to Karigan. Aleron began to try to cool her fever by dabbing her forehead with the wet cloth. It was then that he noticed that she was awake still and looking up at him with eyes full of fire. She asked, "Who are you? Where are you taking me?"

Aleron froze, gazing into the forest green eyes of his younger sister. Then he swallowed anxiously and answered, "My name is Aleron. We share the same blood of our parents Stevic and Kariny G'ladheon."

The fire immediately burned out of her eyes as she gaped up at him. And yet, she asked him uncertainly, "How do I know that you're telling the truth?"

Aleron sighed and went to wet the cloth again. When he returned, he said, "Our mother, Kariny, was with child with you. Da was so excited to finally know that he was going to have his little girl. He and mum were already thinking about names for you," he chuckled, "If I remember correctly, da really wanted to name you Emma. But our mother thought different. She told da that she had this strong feeling that you were going to look like her. So mum and da named you Karigan, after her. I personally think that that's what her Eletian friends told her that you were going to look like her. She had been going to visit their camp outside Corsa for weeks, and then one night she took me with her."

He went again to the water basin and rewet the cloth. And when he returned he continued, "She told me once we came to the Eletian camp, 'Don't be scared Aleron, be the brave boy that I know that you are. Go with these people, they will teach you much, much more thanI ever could.'" Aleron paused to look back into his younger sister's eyes, "I'm certain that she wanted to say something else after that, but she didn't. Instead, she handed me to two Eletians, which, I would later learn that they were the prince and princess themselves." He sighed and looked at Karigan, "You do look a lot like mum."

For a while, she didn't say anything, but then, after a while, her lips curled up in a slight smile. "I may look like mum, but I have our da's temperament."

Aleron nodded, "I heard." He sat down on the side of the bed and pushed back some hair from her face, "You stubborn stubborn girl." They were both quiet for a while, until Aleron asked, curious, "Are you married?"

Karigan smiled at him, "No, but I do have a special man in my life as much as possible."

"It's the king, isn't it," Aleron said, feeling the puzzle pieces fall into place in his head. Karigan only nodded.

"He's amazing Aleron. Zachary is much more than the king, he's an . . ." she sighed and smiled dreamily, "Zachary's just an amazing man. Da's already met him and I think that he likes him."

Aleron asked jokingly, "Has there been any hint of a ring yet?"

"No, but Zachary and da are in some kind of agreement. I don't know what that's about," Karigan replied before she yawned.

"You should probably get some sleep," Aleron told her. And then he asked Ralean, "Are we almost there?"

"Maybe another two hours," Ralean called back.

Karigan asked, "How are we getting there so quick?"

"The Eletian horses; magic," Aleron answered. Karigan nodded and closed her eyes then. Aleron watched silently as his younger sister fell asleep, despite her grievous wounds. So Karigan and the king, Zachary, were involved with each other in a lover relationship. Aleron had to applaud her for going against the lord governors, it took a lot of spunk to do that. But things like these happen, and no matter how hard you try, one could never go against love. And who knows, things might turn out okay in the long run.

He stayed in the back of the carriage for the last two hours of the trip to the Sithiuym. But when they finally got there, Ralean went inside immediately and called for some others to bring out a stretcher to bring her inside and put her in a room. Karigan was still asleep as Aleron lifted her again from the bed and placed her in the stretcher carried by four other Eletians. The Eletians carried her throughout the Sithiuym as carefully as possible to her room. Ever since the final battle with Mornhavon the Black, the Eletians held her in great esteem. Almost like the Black Shields back at the castle.

Minutes later, Aleron opened the door to a room. The Sithiuym room was large, the opposite wall was only glass that looked out over the trees and down to the green ground a storey below them. The prince, Prince Jametari, had chosen this room specifically for Karigan for when she arrived. The stretcher carriers went to the bed on the right most wall and carefully transferred Karigan from the stretcher to the bed. Then, Aleron's mate, Grella, immediately went to work of waking her and giving her a small glass of their cordial, and then Grella applied some salve to her chest and stomach wounds. All the while, Aleron stayed in the room with her, watching over everything that went on.

After Grella was finished, she sighed and looked over at her mate and smiled. She walked over to him and sat down on his lap, stroking his cheek and exchanging a brief kiss. Aleron asked her quietly, "Is she going to be alright?"

Grella looked back at Karigan, who was long asleep again in the bed, "We'll have to see. I'm going to attach some leaches to her wounds as soon as they get here to try to get the infection out as much as possible. Then, if she makes it through the night, then she'll make it. But it's too soon to tell." Aleron sighed and rested his chin on his mate's shoulder. Then, he couldn't resist the urge to push back his mate's beautiful long, golden hair to gently kiss her neck and jaw. "Aleron, I've been thinking,"

"About what?" Aleron asked.

"I was thinking that maybe we should join that group and migrating down to Argenthyne," Grella said. Aleron looked up at her and she said, "I thought that maybe since the black magic from Mornhavon was gone, that maybe we could journey down there."

"What brought this up all of a sudden?" Aleron asked.

"It wasn't all of a sudden, I've thought about it, but you've been gone," Grella answered.

"Well sure, but I was only gone for two days," Aleron replied. He stared into her eyes, "Is there something that you're not telling me?" he asked.

Grella looked away from him and bit her lip, Aleron watched as she took a deep breath and finally turned to look back at him and look him in the eyes. "Aleron I'm with child," she finally said.

Aleron gaped at her, "W―what?"

"I'm pregnant," she repeated, making Aleron's heart skip a beat. He never thought that this could happen. But already, he could just see his child in his mind's eye, he has the beauty and grace of the Eletians and yet has his father's expressive brown eyes. Aleron looked down at his mate's belly and swallowed anxiously, he slowly and gently placed his hand on her belly, where his child will begin to show within no time. Grella said, "Aleron, please say something."

His mouth opened but no words came out. He was speechless, utterly speechless. "Honey that's . . . that's amazing, fantastic. A―are you sure? How far along are you?"

"I'm six weeks in, I just had it confirmed after you left," Grella answered, placing a trembling hand on his chest. Aleron held it in his tightly, acting as her rock that he was. "Are you happy?" she asked him, looking at him uncertainly.

"Am I happy? Grella why would you ask that, of course I am. I'm ecstatic, excited, overjoyed, everything; I'm speechless at it all," Aleron answered, holding her tighter into him.

Someone knocked on the door outside and without letting his mate go, Aleron said, "Come in." One of the other Sithiuym nurses came in with a jar of squirmy, slimy leaches. Aleron shivered at the thought of them crawling all over his body and sucking his blood. Grella detached herself from her mate's hold and stood to take the jar from the nurse. Aleron stood after the other nurse left and Grella put the jar on a bedside table. She was putting some gloves on her soft, beautiful hands as he went to stand beside her. He asked as she picked up the jar again, "Will this hurt her?"

"It'll be uncomfortable, but we hope that she'll stay asleep during this process. I'll be attaching these leaches to her chest down to her stomach, since that is where the infection is," Grella said. She looked at him, "I'm going to have to remove her shirt for this so if you are okay with seeing a shirtless woman you can stay, but if you're not, then you should turn around."

"Well Grella, I'm sure that you haven't forgotten that we had to do something to get you pregnant," Aleron replied cheekily.

Grella turned scarlet in the face and smiled slightly, "Are you going to watch or turn around?"

"I'll stay," Aleron said.

Grella nodded and then said, "Then can you help me take the shirt off?" Aleron glanced at Karigan lying in the bed and then swallowed and nodded. He walked to the other side of the bed and began the task of removing his adult sister's shirt, starting to feel that maybe it was a bad idea to stay. Once the shirt was off and Aleron deposited it on the back of a nearby chair, he watched as his mate, what he thought to be equal to his wife, placed the leaches about her chest and down to her stomach wound.

He had to clear his throat to ask, "Why aren't you putting leaches on her . . ."

Grella paused in her work and looked up at him with a smile, "Her breasts?" Aleron turned scarlet this time and cleared his throat again, rubbing the back of his neck. He nodded. Grella chuckled and answered with mirth in her voice, "A woman's breasts are what feed infants, and if I should allow leaches to attach there, then there could be permanent damage and she wouldn't be able to nurse any future children. Shouldn't you have known that already?" Grella asked jokingly. Aleron gave her a look and she went back to her work.

When she finished, Aleron covered her up again with a blanket as his mate closed the jar and put it back on the table. "Well, let's hope that this will work," she said as she took off her gloves. Grella looked at Aleron and said, "Come on, we should leave her to rest. I'll check on her again in a few hours to check on the leaches and to put more salve onto her wounds. You should go home and rest after your journey."

Aleron sighed but knew that she was right. So they both left the room; Grella went back to work on her other patients and Aleron traveled back to their small house nearby.

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><p><strong>There's chapter 12 for you all. Karigan's going to be an aunt to a half-Eletian baby! I wasn't sure of what the Eletians call their romantic partners, so I used 'mate' from the Inheritance Series. Also, I really don't think that the leaches on a woman's mammary glands (trying to keep it clean) is real. It's just in the story because I made it up. I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter and have a great new year.<strong>


	13. Chapter 13: The Bond

**Sorry for the other long wait. There's happy news though, Rediscovery is now available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the Xlibris Publishing website. This chapter was inspired by a small concept from the book **_**I Am The Great Horse **_**by Katherine Roberts. If you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it. And for this chapter, I'd like to at least get two reviews, it made me really sad that no one reviewed for the last chapter. Anyway, here's the new chapter, Chapter 13: The Bond.**

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><p>Chapter 13: The Bond<p>

Stevic G'ladheon gave his horse to the horse boy and walked solemnly up to his front door step of his home. He had just returned home from Sacor City after spending three days there to give the king his blessings and then to look after his wounded daughter. He couldn't stay long since the spring and summer trading season were going to begin soon. He had to come and prepare for it all, and he couldn't do that at the castle. So, he had to come back home, despite his strongest instincts.

As he walked into the door and turned to go to the family room, the first thing that he saw was someone other than his strong-willed sisters sitting in one of the chairs. "Um, hello?"

The woman turned around and Stevic found that his Kari's own captain was sitting in front of the fireplace. She sighed, "I'm sorry, I would have asked but one of your sisters told me that you were gone after I had gotten here."

He gave her a confused look; he was too tired to deal with this, "What's wrong?"

Captain Mapstone stood from the chair and sighed, "I'm been released from the Green Rider Corps. And now, there's nowhere else that I can go."

Stevic sighed and ran his hand over his face, "That's fine. Just . . .," he paused and ran his hand through his hair and hoped that Karigan was alright back at the castle. "You're welcome here for as long as you need as long as you can make yourself as useful as possible here."

He turned to go upstairs to his room to go to bed, but was stopped when he heard Laren say, "Thank you Stevic." He turned around and looked at her again and then he nodded.

"You're welcome Laren," he replied. Then he headed toward his room again, hoping to get the chance to go to bed early.

Early the next morning, Stevic woke with his thoughts filled of Karigan. Though the sun was shining brightly in the early spring morning, there was a slight breeze coming in from the open window, Stevic could not find any pleasure within it all. His own daughter was lying on the mending wing bed, possibly dying, clearly severely wounded. And yet, he was lying in luxury on his expensive bed, under equally expensive sheets, fine and healthy. It wasn't fair, why did it always have to be _his_ daughter.

He sat up and then stood from the bed and grabbed the robe that was hanging on the back of a nearby chair. Shrugging it on silently, he opened the door and walked out into the hallway, headed down toward the stairs and eventually the kitchen, where he expected his sisters to be gossiping away the morning over tea. And that's exactly where he found them, including Laren. Their cook was making breakfast as the girls were sitting around the table drinking tea.

"Good morning brother," his sisters said.

He mumbled in reply, "Morning."

"Don't leave us in silence Stevic, come now, tell us of our niece," Tory said before taking another sip of her tea.

"Yes, and also of what the king wanted. That, I have been most curious," Stace added.

Sitting down in the last empty chair, Stevic decided that he should go in order of events. He sighed and started, "The reason that I went to see the king was that I had received a message from him, a quite . . . shocking message saying that . . . he was in love with Kari and asked me for her hand in marriage.―"

"What? Zachary is our king he can't marry her," Laren spoke up.

Stevic took a deep breath and said, "He said in the message that he was going to marry Karigan, even if he had to resign as our king."

"Resign!" Laren pressed a hand to her face. "Stevic I've known that man all his life and I honestly _never_ thought that he would _resign_ over a matter such as this."

"Do you not support them Laren?" Tory asked.

Laren hesitated in answering, then she sighed and answered, "Yes, but only as long as it doesn't threaten the country."

"But if the king resigns to marry Kari, then what could happen?" Greta asked.

"The lord governors can and will begin fighting over who will be the next king," Laren answered.

"What did you say brother? Tell us," Brini asked, excited.

He sighed, "Zachary's a good man: honorable, respectable, responsible, and caring. And I have no doubt that he'll take care of my daughter. When I saw them together, Kari looked so happy, there was that glint to her eyes that seemed like I'd seen before. And it turns out that I have, in my dead wife's own eyes when she looked at me."

"What did you say Stevic, spit it out for God's sake?" Tory said slamming her hand on the table.

"Yes." The girls went mute for only a minute, and then suddenly Stevic's sisters all started planning wedding details all at the same time. So, before it got anymore out of hand, Stevic said, "Excuse me, but there's something more important at the moment that I need to tell you all." He took a deep breath and said, "After I had my meeting with King Zachary, I had gone to the bed and was getting ready to sleep when someone knocked on the door. So I get back up and get the door to find that it's one of the other Green Riders. The first thing that I noticed was that this girl was very pale and she was breathing really hard. She says, 'Chief G'ladheon, there's been a … there's been a bit of an… Karigan has been stabbed.'"

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><p>It was later at night and King Zachary was just walking back to his apartments for the night. That is, until one of his Weapons said, "Sire, another Eletian wishes to have a word with you."<p>

King Zachary closed his eyes and sighed, "Fine." Then he headed in the direction of his study and when he arrived at the door, the Eletian was already waiting for him. "Good evening . . ."

"Ralean, highness," the Eletian replied. "And good evening."

King Zachary nodded and opened the door, "Come in." The two men walked inside the dimly lit study and the king said as he made his way toward his desk, "Come and make yourself comfortable."

"Well your highness, I shouldn't really do that because I would just need to get back up again soon anyway," Ralean replied, standing beside one of the chairs in front of the desk.

The king still hadn't sat down when he asked, "Why not? Is it because of what you wished to speak to me about?" The Eletian nodded. Then, with a smile, he asked, "Would you suggest that I remain standing?"

"It would depend on what your answer is going to be your majesty. But to maybe keep this conversation short, you could remain standing," Ralean answered, folding his hands behind his back.

"Okay then, what is your question?" King Zachary asked, leaning on his desk.

"Prince Jametari has given you the opportunity to go to the Sithiuym where the Galadheon girl is being treated every three days. Would you like to accept this offer or decline?" Ralean asked.

King Zachary gaped at him, of course he would accept. He would never pass up the chance to see his love once more and too see how she was faring. He ran his hand through his auburn hair and said in reply, "Of course I accept. H―how long can I stay at a time?"

"For as long as you like your majesty," the Eletian replied. When the king didn't say anything else, the Eletian asked him, "Are you ready your majesty?"

King Zachary looked back up at him, "Now?" Ralean nodded and King Zachary went into action, "Wait here for a moment, and make sure that my Weapons know where I'm going, I'll be right back." Then he quickly left the study toward his private apartments. Before Stevic had left, he had given Zachary some of his wife's favorite jewelry to give to Karigan, which were a necklace and the engagement ring that Stevic had given her when he proposed to her. Zachary didn't feel like it was the right time for the ring yet, so he planned on simply giving her the necklace while he was there. King Zachary went to his private bed chamber and walked to the wooden box sitting on his nightstand.

Inside, there were the only two things that he had to give to Karigan. The necklace, which was a single sapphire stone shaped like a tear drop that was surrounded by smaller diamonds all held together by a small gold chain. Then the ring was a round cut diamond that had a polished gold band. It was such a beautiful ring that the king had sometimes wondered how the merchant had gotten it in the beginning. But then he always thought of Stevic's past and the question was usually answered.

King Zachary gently lifted the necklace from out of the box and held it up close for one last inspection. It was truly a beautiful necklace that would and could only enhance his Kari's beauty. And, on top of it all, it would bring out his love's beautiful blue eyes that he gets lost in every time he stares into them. He closed the box and gently tucked the necklace into a pocket and walked back out of his private chambers back toward his study.

When he returned, Ralean was still there and he asked the king, "Are you ready now?"

King Zachary nodded, "Yes, I'm ready." He could barely contain himself from bouncing up and down as he stood inside his study, with the door closed, and as Ralean began to chant in his own language. He was going to see his Kari again; it hadn't been so long in reality since he'd last seen her, but it felt like forever to him. He missed the feeling of getting lost in her beautiful blue eyes, he missed her smile that was usually always directed at him, he missed the softness of her skin, her hair, and her lips. He missed everything about her and he just wanted to see her again.

He closed his eyes when he started to feel fuzzy all over and then he heard this hum. Then it was all over within seconds. King Zachary opened his eyes again and looked around him. Obviously, he wasn't standing in his study anymore, now he was standing in the middle of a hallway made bright with the lights of moonstones floating up above his head.

"Welcome to Eletia High King Zachary," he heard from beside him. He looked to his right and saw the recognizable Prince Jametari sitting casually in a chair beside him. The prince motioned to another chair beside him, "Come and sit, I need to have a word with you before you visit."

"It seems like everyone needs to have a word with me these last few hours," King Zachary mumbled as he moved to sit beside the other noble.

"Well, you'll be happy to know at least that what I need to talk to you about has to do with the young woman sleeping in that room across from us," the prince said crossing his legs. King Zachary glanced at the door in front of him and then went back to the prince. "I suppose I should just come out and tell you that you and the woman on the other side of this door have a very special and rare bond. This bond is so rare, it's seldom seen amongst we Eletians. In fact only one other couple has this particular bond that I know of. This bond has no name and its powers and it's . . . capabilities not well known and recorded. It is recorded that with this bond, you are able to feel each other's pain and at its most powerful, can communicate to each other through your thoughts, no matter how far away from each other you two are.

"But the most special thing about this bond is is that . . ." At this the prince paused and looked thoughtful, almost as if he was at a loss of words. Then he finally said, "I can't explain it, but when the both of you are separated, you can still _feel_ one another. Almost as if . . . almost as if there is something invisible that is still connecting you. But this isn't all at the same time, you will always feel like something is connecting the both of you, but like I said before," Prince Jametari leaned forward and looked King Zachary in the eyes, "only at its most powerful, can you feel each other's pain and communicate. And this can only start happening once the bond is activated."

"How do we activate it?" King Zachary asked.

"We don't know, the only thing that I can tell you is that you'll know, you both will know when it has," Prince Jametari answered, leaning back in his chair again.

King Zachary sighed and glanced at Karigan's door, "Is this all or . . .?"

"No, just a moment more please," the prince answered. King Zachary nodded and listened as Prince Jametari continued, "I needed to warn you, king. Both you and the Galadheon girl will be facing troubling times. It has been foretold by the Alevium that the Galadheon girl will be hunted. She won't be killed, but she will be harmed several times, and she will be tracked. You, on the other hand, will be faced with trouble in the castle. You must face threat after threat after threat of a civil war and of dealing with your lords. All while maintaining contact with the Galadheon."

King Zachary sighed again and ran his hands over his face; the worst thing that could happen was for there to be a civil war. That could put the kingdom into danger by rendering them defenseless if they were to be attacked again while under a civil war. He looked up again at where Prince Jametari was sitting and found that he was gone. He looked around and he couldn't find the prince anywhere, it was almost like he vanished into thin air. So, assuming that he was done with talking, King Zachary stood from the chair and went straight for the door. He wrapped his hand around the handle and sent a prayer to any god that was listening and then quietly turned it and opened the door.

Looking inside, there was silver moonlight coming in from the glass wall opposite of him and the door. Then there was a candle lit on a table beside the bed illuminating the room with a slight warm glow. In both of the lights, King Zachary could clearly see a woman stooped over the bed. "You must be Zachary," she said, not looking away from Karigan.

King Zachary quietly closed the door again and replied, "Yes, I am." He walked to the other side of the bed and gazed at Karigan's face that was miraculously clear. "How is she?" he asked.

The woman finally straightened back up and the king saw her face for the first time. It was an Eletian woman of course, so she had fair and yet strong and definitive features. She had long gold hair that reminded him of Lady Estora. She wiped her small hands on a cloth and said to him in the eye, "The infection has been taken care of. All that really remains is that we keep the wounds clean and they will heal nicely. But . . ." she paused, looking back down at Karigan's sleeping figure, "she hasn't woken since she's gotten here." The woman looked back up at him and added, "I personally hoped that once you got here, she would wake."

He said nothing for a short moment and then he quietly asked, looking back at her, "May I have a few moments alone with her?"

The Eletian woman hesitated and then nodded, and she turned and walked out the room as quietly as the king had entered. King Zachary then bent down to gently stroke Karigan's cheek with the pad of his thumb. He gently pressed his lips to her temple, cheek, and then softly to her lips. Then he whispered into her ear, "Kari, I'm here with you now. You're safe; no one can hurt you here." He ran a hand through her hair and pushed back that lone lock of blonde hair. And he watched as Karigan shifted and her head turned to the other side toward him. King Zachary heard her sigh and watched as her eyes slowly cracked open. His heart leapt into his throat as she came to look back at him. "Hey," he said, leaning forward closer to her, "how are you?"

Karigan groaned and rubbed her forehead, "I don't quite know yet. I'm kind of feeling fuzzy."

"It must be the Eletian medicines, you've said before that their ointments worked similarly to now," he said. Karigan winced and nodded. King Zachary watched her closely for a few moments before he finally said, stroking her cheek, "There's something that I need to tell you Kari."

"What?" she mumbled.

"I spoke with Prince Jametari before I came in here, and he told me that we have a bond that is virtually unseen, even amongst the Eletians," he said.

Rubbing her head, "Good to know."

King Zachary sighed; maybe it wasn't the time to bring up the subject with her when she's tilting on the edge of wakefulness and slumber. Instead, he said, "Go back to sleep, you need it to heal." She nodded, her eyes starting to droop again. Then, once she was asleep again, he pulled out the necklace and held it out once again. Undoing the clasp, he bent to put it around her tantalizing neck and redoing the back. King Zachary straightened the necklace out perfectly and thought, _It truly brings out her eyes. As I'm sure the same went for her mother when Stevic gave it to her._ He stood and quietly walked out of the room.

He was met with the Eletian woman from before, who asked, "Is she awake?"

He answered hesitantly, "She woke but is asleep again."

The woman nodded, then asked, "Do you wish to leave?"

"Yes I should be getting back to my castle before the long day tomorrow," he replied.

"Then you should seek out our prince, he is out by the front gates watching the stars," she informed him.

"Thank you," he replied. King Zachary continued on down the hall toward some kind of doors leading outside.

Three flights of stairs later and lots of getting lost and asking for directions, he finally reached the outside and ultimately, the front gates where he found Prince Jametari standing under the stars looking up at them. King Zachary approached the prince and the prince asked without looking at him, "Is it time for you to leave already?"

"She's recovering, and besides, I would get in the way of your healers," he replied as an excuse.

"Nonsense," the prince replied, finally turning around, "it is when a woman is recovering from a grievous wound such as this when a man like you is wanted at her side. I would suggest, king, that you go back in there and stay with her until day arrives, and only then will I consider letting you go back." King Zachary noticed with a bit of amusement that Prince Jametari's eyes held some mirth in them and a quirk of the corner of his lips began to show as a mischievous grin. "Besides," he added, "I don't doubt that she'll be in a more . . . responsive mood when she next wakes."

King Zachary observed the prince closely. And then he said, "Perhaps I will."

"Sweet dreams then High King Zachary," Prince Jametari replied, looking quite innocent, except for the impish grin, despite being an Eletian. _Has this man gone mad?_ He wondered to himself. With a backwards glance at the prince, King Zachary finally walked back to the large Eletian medical building and eventually, walked inside it to begin the long journey back to his Kari's room once again.

Most of the rest of the medical building was silent with the night. So the Sacoridian king was hesitant to interrupt the peace as he walked down the hall to Karigan's room. Then, once he was back inside, the candle was blown out on the bed table and there was no one else inside it all except for his love. He pulled the only chair in the room up to her bedside and sat down in it. Finally, after a while, he laid his head down upon Karigan's legs and fell into slumber.

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><p><strong>I hope that you all enjoyed reading this chapter. I'm sorry that it took so long to get it up and available to you guys but things have been a bit busy here. Anyway, I promise that I won't go back to before, but please, I want just a few reviews for this. Reviews let me know that you all read this and helps me keep updating. Thank you all,<strong>

**Thylacine67**


	14. Author's Note

**My dear readers, **

**I'm so sorry to say that **_**Life on the Run**_** is now on hiatus for an undetermined time. I have been so busy with school and my next serious book in the works that I have no more time to put my thoughts and ideas of this fanfic into words. But, I will allow someone else to continue where I left off at. The only thing that you'll need to do is PM me saying that you want to take over. If I give you the okay, then we can discuss my ideas on where I wanted this to go. **

**Again, I am so sorry for putting the fanfic on hiatus but life reared its head and hit me right in the gut. I'll be looking forward to hearing from anyone who is interested in taking over of **_**Life on the Run**_**. Thank you all for your understanding.**

**Update: hamsterpickle1313 has taken over for the rest of the fanfic. So start looking out for a new story posting of it!**

**Thylacine67**


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